Vice President of India Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan to deliver inaugural address

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman to address special plenary on ‘India’s Economic Priorities’ at KEC 2026

Union Minister for External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar to deliver special concluding address on ‘India and the World: Adaptive by Design’

Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia to deliver keynote address on ‘From Connectivity to AI: The New Architecture of the Digital Economy’

Union Cabinet Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will deliver the keynote address on Culture as Capital: From Heritage to Horizons

Over 200 Indian and international participants from around 30 countries to discuss resilience, global fragmentation, technology, trade, finance and India’s economic priorities

The 5^th Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC 2026) is scheduled to be held from 3^rd to 5^th October 2026 at New Delhi, under the theme “Resilience in an Age of Flux”. The three-day gathering will bring together senior policymakers, economists, academics, financial experts and international thought leaders.

The 5^th edition of KEC will bring together more than 180 policymakers, economists, academics, financial experts and international thought leaders, including over 80 international participants from around 30 countries. They will contribute to the Conclave’s plenary sessions, interactive discussions and focused roundtables.

The Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) was founded by Professor V.K.R.V. Rao in 1952. Currently, Shri N. K. Singh is the President, Board of Trustees, IEG. Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra is Chairman of the Board of Governors, and Professor Sabyasachi Kar is Director of the Institute.

The Kautilya Economic Conclave is an initiative of the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), organised in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. First convened in 2022, the Conclave provides a forum for dialogue on contemporary economic and policy challenges.

Since its inception in 2022, the Kautilya Economic Conclave has grown into a forum for dialogue on economic and policy challenges. Earlier editions were held under the themes “Redefining the Future” (2022), “Navigating a World on Fire” (2023), “The Indian Era” (2024) and “Seeking Prosperity in Turbulent Times” (2025).

Vice President of India Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan will deliver the inaugural address on October 3, 2026. The inaugural session will examine how economic policy can build resilience without sacrificing growth, openness or institutional credibility in an environment marked by recurrent global shocks and uncertainty.

A special plenary on “Resilience in an Age of Flux: India’s Economic Priorities” will focus on how India can sustain growth, preserve macroeconomic stability and expand investment amid global fragmentation, technological disruption and recurrent shocks. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver the special address, with Amelie de Montchalin, President of the Cour des Comptes and former Minister of Public Action and Accounts of France, as discussant.

The concluding session, “India and the World: Adaptive by Design”, will be moderated by Shri N. K. Singh, President, Board of Trustees, Institute of Economic Growth. Dr. S. Jaishankar, Union Minister for External Affairs, will deliver the special concluding address, with former Singapore Foreign Minister Mr. George Yeo as discussant. The session will examine how India can remain adaptive by design, preserve strategic autonomy, widen partnerships and respond flexibly to a more contested and uncertain global order.

Technology and the digital economy will constitute another major strand of KEC 2026. Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, will deliver the keynote address at the plenary “From Connectivity to AI: The New Architecture of the Digital Economy”. The session will examine how digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and new communications networks can raise productivity while preserving competition and trust.

Union Cabinet Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will deliver the keynote address on Culture as Capital: From Heritage to Horizons on the penultimate day.

The opening plenary, “A World Priced for Risk”, will examine how energy shocks, supply-chain disruptions and the weaponisation of trade and economic access are creating renewed challenges for macroeconomic management, investment and resilience. The session will be chaired by Lord Nicholas Stern, with Shri P. K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, delivering the keynote address and Professor Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago as discussant.

The Conclave will also feature Shri Shaktikanta Das, Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, as keynote speaker in the plenary session “Kautilya and a Resurgent India: Lessons for Emerging Markets”. The session will explore the lessons that India’s economic experience can offer emerging markets and will feature José De Gregorio, former President of the Central Bank of Chile, and Muhamad Chatib Basri, former Finance Minister of Indonesia.

The role of central banks in navigating a more volatile global environment will be a key focus of the Conclave. In the plenary session “Central Banking in an Age of Flux”, Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, will deliver the special address. Chaired by Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank and former Governor of the Banque de France, the session will consider how central banks can manage inflation, financial fragility, capital flows and credibility amid recurrent global shocks. Governor Malhotra’s participation will provide an important perspective on the challenges confronting monetary policy and financial stability in a rapidly changing global economy.

The agenda will address a wide range of domestic and global economic issues, including fiscal federalism, industrial policy, capital-market development, regulatory oversight, development finance and the mobilisation of domestic and foreign capital for long-term investment. Sessions will examine the institutional and fiscal principles governing Centre-State relations, the role of industrial policy in structural transformation, and the conditions required to deepen India’s capital markets and channel savings into productive risk capital.

International perspectives will form an important part of the Conclave. Sessions will examine Europe’s growth and competitiveness challenges and its economic relationship with Asia; global imbalances, debt and financial stability; structural transformation in China; and Japan’s role in economic security, technology and connectivity in the Indo-Pacific.

A dedicated plenary, “Balancing Contradictions in the Age of Flux”, will consider how India can manage competing strategic and economic relationships while preserving strategic autonomy, economic interests and room for manoeuvre. The discussion will bring together international experts on Asia, China, Taiwan and India’s global economic relationships.

Parallel sessions will further explore “The New Tech Order: Power, Platforms, AI and Regulatory Competition” and “Humans and Machines: Work, Skills and Education in the AI Age”. These discussions will focus on how artificial intelligence and strategic technologies are reshaping economic power, labour markets, skills, education and regulatory frameworks.

Other sessions will address climate resilience, reform of multilateral development banks, healthcare and global health security, urbanisation, agriculture, demographic change and the future of work. Discussions on “Feeding the Future” will examine the resilience of agriculture and food systems amid climate uncertainty and trade disruptions, while “Demography at a Turning Point” will consider the implications of ageing, fertility, migration and demographic change for labour markets and productivity.

The Conclave will also examine the transformation of global trade and investment networks. A plenary on “From Globalisation to Fragmentation: Rewiring Trade Networks” will consider how strategic rivalry, industrial policy and economic security are reshaping trade, investment and supply chains. Another session, “The New Growth Corridor: Reimagining Asia-Africa Economic Partnerships”, will focus on opportunities for deeper trade, investment, infrastructure and development partnerships between Asia and Africa.

The three-day Conclave will feature plenary sessions, interactive parallel sessions and invitation-only closed-door roundtables. The roundtables will focus on issues including attracting foreign direct investment and mobilising domestic capital for long-term investment, providing opportunities for more focused exchanges among policymakers, economists, investors and practitioners. The Conclave is a “by invitation only” event.