Nirmala Sitharaman, along with MoS Harsh Malhotra, chairs Chintan Shivir of Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Vijayanagara: Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, along with Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra, presided over the Chintan Shivir of the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs at Hampi in Karnataka’s Vijayanagara district on Saturday.

According to the official statement, besides senior officials from Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs and relevant departments, all Secretaries of Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs, heads of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and Chief Economic Adviser to Government of India were also present in the meeting.

Discussions in the session titled “Artificial Intelligence, Ease of Doing Business and Financing for Viksit Bharat” focused on strengthening institutional capacity and policy making through the use of AI, technology-enabled systems and process reforms to improve Ease of Doing Business.
Negotiations covered simplification of procedures, regulatory predictability, coordinated inter-departmental functioning, efficient fund flows, future-ready tax management, financing pathways for sustainable growth and leveraging digital tools for transparency, efficiency and accountability.

In her speech, FM Sitharaman touched upon the historical importance of the Vijayanagara region, stating that this region represents one of the closest examples of an Indian empire that reached its peak only 500 years ago, with traces of which can be seen across much of the subcontinent.

He also noted the contrast in the same region, where magnificent monuments coexist with drought-prone areas facing low agricultural productivity and human-animal conflict, and underlined the need to withstand today’s development realities.