Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Addresses Chintan Shivir in Gurjrat

The three-day Chintan Shivir of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs concluded in Kevadia, Gujarat, today. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the Chintan Shivir in presence of Union Ministers of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad.

The Chintan Shivir was attended by senior officials of Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The Finance Secretary, Secretaries from D/o Economic Affairs (DEA), D/o Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), D/o Revenue (DoR), D/o Financial Services (DFS) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Chief Economic Advisor, Chairmen of CBDT and CBIC were also part of the deliberations.

Free and frank discussions were held by more than 100 senior officers of MoF and MCA on how to re-orient to achieve the Amrit Kaal goals by embracing the Panch Pran as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

Interactive sessions were held on the “Role of Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs in Amrit Kaal”, “Building our Capacities”, and “Improving our Efficiencies”.

Smt. Sitharaman advised the officers to optimally utilise the vast pool of resources and experience at disposal in the Government. The Finance Minister underlined mentoring of young generations to embellish efforts in the march toward Viksit Bharat of 2047 in the Amrit Kaal.

Smt. Sitharaman urged the officers to go beyond to explore frontiers beyond their set roles and make an extra impact on other domains as well so that synergistic thoughts emerge which can be useful for the overall Ministry.

In her concluding remarks during the Chintan Shivir, the Union Finance Minister stated that both effectiveness and efficiency are long-term phenomenon and consistency in reform policy, with focus on both, individual and institutional efficiencies, are vital ingredients in public service delivery.

Referring to phenomenon of information overload as counter-productive to effectiveness and efficiency, the Union Finance Minister emphasised that both MoF and MCA must strive for simplification of processes with focus on not just the whole-of-Government-approach, but also whole-of-the-country approach to maximise delivery and engagement.

Smt. Sitharaman urged MoF and MCA senior officers to continuously mentor the new entrants/younger colleagues to develop the wherewithal in delivering results in the Amrit Kaal and beyond making Viksit Bharat by 2047. The Union Finance Minister also emphasised on the need to continuously reorient policy in the cultural context and to instil a sense of ownership in decision-making, to enhance effectiveness with efficiency.

During the discussions, Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary called for ambitious target-orientation for productively achieving goals towards India's journey in becoming a developed country by 2047.

In his remarks during the session, Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad emphasised on building self-confidence through knowledge and skilling. Dr. Karad said that decisions must be made in consultation with knowledgeable partners and stakeholders besides developing appropriate feedback mechanism for real-time assessment of delivery.

The Session on the “Role of Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs in Amrit Kaal” focused on enabling growth and stability, and focused on the following four themes:

1. Capital Formation and Retention
2. Inclusive Growth
3. Aatmanirbhar Bharat
4. Strengthening Public Finance

During the session on “Building our Capacities”, discussions revolved around:

1. Building Professional Capacity
2. Building Personal Capacity
3. Work-life Balance Capacity
4. Institutional Capacity

The discussions during the session were focused on various aspects of capacity-building in the areas of human resource and institutions, role of technology and software-enabled systems, intra and inter-ministerial consultations, importance of training at various levels, and mentoring young blood for leading roles in Amrit Kaal in the journey towards building strong and resilient India Viksit Bharat by 2047.

During the session on “Building our Efficiencies”, in-depth discussions were held on:

1. Enabling skilled and motivated workforce
2. Robust internal processes
3. Coordination and engagement with internal stakeholders
4. Focus on external stakeholders
5. Changing organisational culture

The discussions in the session revolved around skilling, maintaining robust organisational processes, streamlining file management systems and expediting decision-making in MoF and MCA, onboarding of stakeholders from the start, citizen-friendly technology tools, leveraging technology and use of AI for future-readiness, whole-of-Government-and-holistic approach towards public service delivery, time-bound delivery of citizen-centric services, removing duplicity of effort, and leveraging technology and use of AI for future-readiness.

On the sidelines of the Chintan Shivir, Union Finance Minister also interacted with the G20 Finance Track India Team. The G20 Finance Track Team shared thoughtful introspections with Smt. Sitharaman on various aspects of navigating the first nine months of Indian G20 Presidency.