5th Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026 Agenda
The Ministry of Finance has announced the 5th Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC 2026), scheduled to be held from October 3 to 5, 2026, in New Delhi under the theme "Resilience in an Age of Flux". The event is organized by the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. IEG was founded by Professor V.K.R.V. Rao in 1952 and currently has Shri N. K. Singh as President of the Board of Trustees and Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra as Chairman of the Board of Governors.
The three-day gathering will bring together over 180 policymakers, economists, academics, financial experts, and international thought leaders, including more than 80 international participants from approximately 30 countries. The conclave will feature plenary sessions, interactive discussions, focused roundtables, and invitation-only closed-door sessions.
Key Speakers and Sessions
Vice President of India Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan will deliver the inaugural address on October 3, 2026, examining how economic policy can build resilience without sacrificing growth, openness, or institutional credibility amid global shocks and uncertainty.
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver a special address during the plenary session on "Resilience in an Age of Flux: India's Economic Priorities," which will focus on how India can sustain growth, preserve macroeconomic stability, and expand investment amid global fragmentation and technological disruption. Amelie de Montchalin, President of the Cour des Comptes and former Minister of Public Action and Accounts of France, will serve as discussant.
Dr. S. Jaishankar, Union Minister for External Affairs, will deliver the special concluding address on "India and the World: Adaptive by Design," moderated by Shri N. K. Singh. Former Singapore Foreign Minister Mr. George Yeo will participate as discussant, examining how India can preserve strategic autonomy and widen partnerships in a contested global order.
Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, will deliver a keynote address on "From Connectivity to AI: The New Architecture of the Digital Economy," examining how digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence can raise productivity while preserving competition and trust.
Union Cabinet Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will deliver a keynote address on "Culture as Capital: From Heritage to Horizons" on the penultimate day.
Central Banking and Economic Policy Focus
Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, will deliver a special address in the plenary session "Central Banking in an Age of Flux," chaired by Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank. The session will consider how central banks can manage inflation, financial fragility, capital flows, and credibility amid recurrent global shocks.
Shri Shaktikanta Das, Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister and former RBI Governor, will be keynote speaker in the plenary "Kautilya and a Resurgent India: Lessons for Emerging Markets," featuring José De Gregorio (former President of Central Bank of Chile) and Muhamad Chatib Basri (former Finance Minister of Indonesia).
The opening plenary, "A World Priced for Risk," 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. This session will examine challenges from energy shocks, supply-chain disruptions, and weaponization of trade.
Comprehensive Agenda Coverage
The conclave agenda addresses wide-ranging domestic and global economic issues including fiscal federalism, industrial policy, capital-market development, regulatory oversight, development finance, and mobilization of domestic and foreign capital for long-term investment. Specific sessions will examine institutional principles governing Centre-State relations, industrial policy's role in structural transformation, and conditions required to deepen India's capital markets.
International perspectives will cover Europe's growth and competitiveness challenges, global imbalances and debt, structural transformation in China, and Japan's role in economic security in the Indo-Pacific. A dedicated plenary on "Balancing Contradictions in the Age of Flux" will consider how India can manage competing strategic and economic relationships.
Parallel sessions will explore "The New Tech Order: Power, Platforms, AI and Regulatory Competition" and "Humans and Machines: Work, Skills and Education in the AI Age," focusing on how AI reshapes economic power, labor markets, and regulatory frameworks.
Additional sessions will address climate resilience, multilateral development bank reform, healthcare security, urbanization, agriculture, demographic change, and the future of work. "Feeding the Future" will examine agricultural resilience amid climate uncertainty, while "Demography at a Turning Point" will consider implications of aging, fertility, and migration.
Trade transformation will be covered in a plenary on "From Globalisation to Fragmentation: Rewiring Trade Networks" examining how strategic rivalry and industrial policy reshape supply chains, and "The New Growth Corridor: Reimagining Asia-Africa Economic Partnerships" focusing on trade and investment opportunities between the two regions.