Seeking Prosperity in Turbulent Times

India’s economic and diplomatic engagement with countries to its east has historically lagged behind its outreach to the West. This imbalance must be corrected economically, politically, and institutionally in light of shifting global economic dynamics – as Asia’s share in global growth rises, that of Europe and North America is expected to decline. This requires a multi-pronged strategy: strengthening trade relationships; reconsidering participation in regional frameworks like the RCEP; and fostering robust civil society interactions with Asian academia, think tanks and public policy institutions.

India remains outside much of Asia’s institutional economic and financial network—ASEAN, the Chiang Mai Initiative, AMRO, EMEAP, and ERIA. The time is ripe to repair this gap, especially as the world experiences deep geopolitical and trade realignments alongside weakening of global multilateral institutions. This session will explore why and how India must take decisive steps to become a more active and integrated player in Asia’s institutional and economic architecture—not just for regional relevance, but for India's own long-term growth and strategic autonomy.

An efficient, vibrant and sound financial sector – comprising both institutions and markets – is a necessary prerequisite and concomitant of economic growth. In this context, financial stability or the capacity of financial intermediaries to withstand surges of volatility in financial prices, is crucial. In the recent period, risks to financial stability remain elevated, testing the resilience of financial systems worldwide.

This session will deliberate on the evolution of the financial sector in the context of mainstream economic and business activity while keeping pace with new areas such as digitalisation and artificial intelligence, developments in payment systems and new age financial assets and liabilities. The emphasis will be on benchmarking against international best practices while ensuring that innovations in financial products and services are not stifled. Guardrails to protect the public against risks to data privacy, cybersecurity, big tech/fintech, and third party dependencies will take into account associated regulatory perimeters relating to anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, and crypto currencies as also those that fall between regulatory cracks such as shadow banking, decentralised finance and private equity.

East Asian economies like South Korea and Taiwan highlight how targeted industrial policy, coupled with performance monitoring and export orientation, led to rapid industrial development and global competitiveness. The resurgence of industrial policy across both developing and developed nations marks a significant shift in economic strategy - fiend-shoring/re-shoring; national control over critical materials, value chains, logistics, and trade partners; and support to sectors such as renewable energy, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing.

The issues for discussion in this session are: Will nationally-oriented industrial policy be effective in delivering cutting edge industrial development? Market distortions - subsidies, tax incentives and protectionist measures - may support inefficient firms, leading to resource misallocation, corruption, cronyism, and policy capture. Aggressive applications of industrial policy can also lead to fragmentation and de-globalisation. This session will also examine reforms in factors of production; the false dichotomy between soft power and manufacturing; and the scope for labour-intensive strategies in value chains. What are the mechanisms for ensuring transparency, competitive neutrality, and regular performance monitoring?

As global challenges continue to reshape the landscape of public health, the goal of universal health coverage remains more urgent than ever. Access to quality healthcare should not be a privilege, but a fundamental right — yet millions still face barriers due to geography, economic inequality, or systemic inefficiencies. At the heart of this issue lies the question of financing: how do we build sustainable, equitable health systems that ensure no one is left behind?

This session aims to bring together all of these issues, in order to explore pathways toward inclusive healthcare — where affordability, accessibility, and accountability converge to realize the vision of health for all. Innovative financing models may be examined - both public and private - that aim to reduce the burden of out-of-pocket expenses and ensure sustainable health systems. Thinking beyond conventional frameworks and committing to actionable solutions can move us closer to a world where quality healthcare is guaranteed for all.

According to the United Nations, about 30 percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas in 1950. By 2050, this figure is projected to reach 68 percent, placing immense pressure on infrastructure and basic services, particularly in developing countries. In response, urban transformation and resilient city planning have become critical global priorities. With stage 1 of urban sector reform broadly completed, this session will focus on the likely contours of Stage 2 reforms: rethinking how urban communities live together, interact socially and economically, access resources, and collectively respond to emerging challenges.

Sustainable finance is going to be a core issue. Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG-11) focuses on key objectives such as improving urban planning and governance, ensuring access to affordable housing and reliable public transportation, reducing pollution and environmental degradation, and strengthening resilience to climate risks and disasters. Truly meaningful and sustainable urban transformation must also be inclusive, with marginalized groups such as the urban poor, migrants, women, children, and the elderly actively involved in planning processes and having equitable access to services.

Balancing democratic pressures with fiscal prudence is a central challenge for India’s subnational states. State governments face intense democratic demands to expand welfare schemes, subsidies, and infrastructure projects, as these policies secure political support and address pressing social needs. However, such commitments often strain fiscal space, leading to rising deficits, mounting debt, and overreliance on central transfers. This tension is most visible during electoral cycles, when populist spending on electricity, water, pensions, and farm loan waivers escalates.

While politically popular, these measures can crowd out long-term investment in health, education, and job creation. Fiscal prudence demands that states contain revenue deficits, improve tax mobilization through GST compliance, and prioritize efficient expenditure. Balancing the two imperatives requires institutional innovations like transparent fiscal rules, independent fiscal councils, and performance-based transfers from the Union government. At the same time, political leaders have to communicate the trade-offs of short-term populism versus sustainable development. Ultimately, states that balance welfare provision with sound finances strengthen both democratic legitimacy and economic resilience.

Asia's interaction with the world is characterized by its growing economic influence, increasing trade and investment flows, and its role as a center of global innovation and technological advancement. Asian economies are increasingly interconnected with other regions, including Africa and Latin America. The outlook for Asia today is, however, clouded by heightened trade tensions, territorial disputes and ideological and border conflicts.

Investor confidence is being undermined by heightened uncertainty, supply chain vulnerabilities, currency volatility, and rising operational expenses. Strategic shifts are also underway. Multinational corporations are diversifying away from China due to rising labour costs, policy risks, and trade restrictions, which result in a noticeable realignment of supply chains. This trend has benefitted economies such as India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. However, seizing these opportunities requires substantial investment in infrastructure, human capital, and governance capacity. Ultimately, Asia’s economic trajectory will also depend on its ability to maintain regional stability and build resilience in an increasingly multipolar and uncertain global order.

The rise of the digital economy is fundamentally transforming the traditional banking structure. With the widespread adoption of internet banking, mobile payments, fintech platforms, and digital currencies, banks are no longer the sole providers of financial services. Digital technologies such as AI, blockchain, and cloud computing are enabling faster transactions, better risk assessment, and improved customer engagement. Fintechs are challenging banks by offering innovative, low-cost, and user-friendly alternatives.

The future of banking will be conditioned by investment in technologies, managing third-party dependencies and dealing with evolving perimeters related to cybersecurity, data privacy, and regulatory compliance. Partnering with tech firms while building in-house digital capabilities is helping in this transformation. The digital economy is redefining the very nature of banking, and making it more agile, inclusive, and customer-driven. While there are challenges, there is scope for innovation, strategic collaboration, and policy support to ensure that digital transformation leads to sustainable financial growth across the sector.

BRICS brings together eleven major emerging economies, representing nearly 50 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of global GDP and around 26 per cent of global trade. The prospects of further expansion of the BRICS are brightening. Increasingly, the BRICS alliance is emerging as the voice of the Global South in reshaping the global order, reforming multilateral institutions and strengthening the global financial safety net. BRICS’ cooperation covers diverse areas such as trade, finance, health, education, science and technology, agriculture, environment, energy, labour, disaster management, and cyber security.

Business-to-Business engagement is fostered through the BRICS Business Council and BRICS Women Business Alliance. Parliamentary exchanges, seminars/conferences, people-to-people exchanges and Track II meetings continuously strengthen the BRICS alliance. Brazil assumed the BRICS Presidency on 1 January 2025 with a focus on Global South Cooperation and BRICS Partnerships for Social, Economic and Environmental Development. India will assume the presidency in 2026. This session will discuss on what could the likely priorities and flagship deliverables that BRICS can strive for under India’s leadership.

The service sector in India has emerged as a crucial driver of economic growth, acting as a powerful growth multiplier by generating employment, boosting exports, and fostering technological progress. Contributing over half of India’s GDP, services such as information technology, finance, healthcare, education, retail, and tourism have not only expanded domestic consumption but also positioned India as a global outsourcing hub. The rise of IT and IT-enabled services, in particular, has spurred demand for skilled workers, encouraged foreign investment, and indirectly stimulated growth in allied sectors like real estate, transportation, and communications.

By enhancing productivity and facilitating innovation, the services sector has created strong linkages with manufacturing and agriculture, making it indispensable for India’s development trajectory. However, significant challenges remain. Growth is concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural regions with limited opportunities. The sector is also marked by skill gaps, as many workers lack training to meet global standards. Overdependence on IT exports makes the economy vulnerable to global shocks, while issues like inadequate infrastructure, regulatory bottlenecks, and weak labour productivity hinder broader expansion.

Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is the backbone of modern economies, facilitating access to goods and services, creates economic opportunities for the poor and vulnerable and spurring innovation, productivity and growth. Foundational DPI (digital ID, data sharing protocol, payment system, data protection framework) can transform private and public service delivery.

DPI is a multi-layered, multi-stakeholder driven ecosystem that requires robust governance and regulatory oversight as well as financial support. From technological architecture to sharing protocols to market participation and innovation, it necessitates design principles that are open, interoperable and scalable as well as secure, resilient and adaptive. Developing economies including India have shown remarkable progress in foundational DPI. However, these countries also often face challenges due to limited funding and state capacity. This session will cover the potential of DPIs in creating economic opportunities, design principles that unleash such opportunities, financing such initiatives as well as regulatory issues such as data privacy, security, interoperability, competition etc that are necessary for reaching its full potential.

China has made remarkable progress spanning over the past three decades, generating substantial productivity growth, investment and technological progress – especially in high tech sectors - with a thrust on export-led growth. It has also created positive externalities that lifted several south-east Asian economies in a hub-and-spoke sequence. Over time, technologies and export sectors that were vacated by China were also increasingly occupied and specialised in by these economies.

As China transitions from export-led growth to consumption-led growth, trade wars and protectionist policies intensify, these growth impulses may weaken. This session will discuss how these developments would impact the economic performance of south east Asian economies. How will value-added supply chains and business models be reshaped? What structural transformations would be needed by Asian economies in the context of their own growth/business models and developmental aspirations?

How we empower young people for meaningful employment has never been more urgent than in this era defined by rapid technological advancement and changing labour markets. Youth represent our greatest potential asset for driving innovation and inclusive development. Yet, many young people face high levels of unemployment or are trapped in informal, insecure jobs. Women’s participation in the labour force faces several constraints, influenced by a combination of social, economic, and cultural factors, resulting in a gender bias in youth employment.

Technology has the power to be a great equalizer but only if accompanied by robust and relevant skill development. This session will examine how education systems, vocational training, and digital literacy programs can be reimagined to meet the demands of a future workforce. A crucial factor is the closing of the gender gap by women’s empowerment through skilling, training, equality of opportunity and remuneration, assuring the dignity of work and the sanctity of the workplace. The role of public policy, private sector engagement, and international cooperation is essential in ensuring that no young person is left behind.

Gender equity and the empowerment of women are essential for building inclusive and sustainable societies. Closing the gender gap in education, employment, and leadership not only upholds fundamental rights but also drives economic growth and innovation. When women are equally represented in decision-making spaces—be it politics, business, or community leadership—policies tend to be more responsive to diverse needs, fostering social protection and equitable opportunities.

Promoting women’s participation in the workforce contributes directly to poverty reduction, as women often reinvest their earnings into family well-being, health, and education. Gender equity is also critical for advancing economic development, as countries with higher rates of female participation experience stronger and more resilient growth. Ensuring access to gender-responsive financing and fair distribution of resources enables women to pursue entrepreneurship and economic independence. This session will cover these issues, highlighting the fact that women’s empowerment creates a multiplier effect, supporting not just individuals but entire communities and nations.

International trade increasingly depends on a closely integrated network of value chains. This has been especially true for countries in the Asian continent, owing to the rise of China as a major player in international trade. Tensions over trade tariffs are rising, however, and testing the resilience of supply chains. The functioning of multilateral arrangements such as the World Trade Organisation is under close scrutiny. The question is: will this will lead to strengthening of regional trade blocs and localised supply chain networks as the way forward for Asia?

This session will explore whether deeper regional integration can offer a resilient and inclusive path to sustained growth in Asia. It will also examine the potential of intra-Asian trade, the role of regional trade agreements like RCEP, and how intra-regional supply chain diversification and digital trade can reinforce economic cooperation in a fragmented global environment. Additionally, the session will consider infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation measures, and the role of small and medium enterprises in strengthening regional value chains and promoting inclusive growth.

Sustainable Development Goal 2 aims to achieve “zero hunger” by 2030. Improving access to nutritious food remains crucial. Despite advancements in agricultural technologies and the increase in agricultural production, malnutrition continues to be a matter of concern for many developing countries. Recent geopolitical developments such as the Russia-Ukraine war have highlighted the importance of food security, particularly in the least developed countries. The adverse impact of climate change on global food security is also a pressing concern.

This session will focus on the issues surrounding agriculture and global food security. It will address the pursuit of sustainable agricultural practices, along with financing mechanisms to support an orderly transition. Alongside changing food habits, how these changes influence agricultural productivity, their differential impacts across regions, and the adaptation strategies adopted will shape the future of food systems. Economic policies and incentives may be needed for a sustainable pathway, while at the same time ensuring adequate availability of food. Important aspects will include trade dynamics and the role of innovation in promoting long-term agricultural resilience.