The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) hosted a seminar titled ‘Better Managing Public Finances in a New Global Era’, on May 22, 2025.

The seminar featured a presentation by Radha Malani, Research Analyst, CSEP and Shruti Gupta, Research Associate, CSEP, followed by a conversation with Amar Patnaik, Former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) & Former Accountant General, CAG and Subodh Mathur, Former Additional CGA. The session was chaired by Anoop Singh, Distinguished Fellow, CSEP & Member, 15th Finance Commission. Rakesh Mohan, President Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow, CSEP gave the welcome remarks and Suman Bery, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog provided the closing remarks.

About the event

We are witnessing historic global trade rebalancing that is effectively making domestic fiscal policy the primary engine of growth. How can this be made sustainable? The global lessons are important for India, where public finance data gaps impair the timely availability of reliable and consistent information on the finances of the three levels of government, which is needed for fiscal policy to play a central role in such a transformation.

With public spending and fiscal policy becoming a primary growth engine, fiscal policy now faces sharp trade-offs between reducing debt, meeting urgent spending needs, and enhancing growth prospects. As a result, safeguards now need to be developed by building transparency and credibility and strengthening fiscal governance that would better allow strategic objectives to be met.

The seminar discussed global lessons and India’s experience, especially at the level of the states.

Welcome Remarks

Rakesh Mohan

Rakesh Mohan is President Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow at CSEP.

Prior to this, he was President and Distinguished Fellow, CSEP from October 2020 till May 2023. In March 2024, he was appointed to serve on the World Bank Group’s Economic Advisory Panel. He has been a part of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) since October 2021.

Prior to joining CSEP, Dr Mohan was Senior Fellow in the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University and was also Professor in the Practice of International Economics and Finance at the School of Management at Yale University, 2010-12. He has also served as Distinguished Consulting Professor at Stanford University in 2009. Dr Mohan was also a Distinguished Fellow with Brookings India.

He has been closely associated with the Indian economic reforms process from the late 1980s. He was Executive Director on the Board of the International Monetary Fund, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Secretary, Economic Affairs, and Chief Economic Adviser of the Indian Ministry of Finance, and Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Industry.

He was also Chairman of Government committees that produced the influential reports on infrastructure: The India Infrastructure Report (1996), The Indian Railways Report (2001) and The India Transport Report (2014).

After the North Atlantic Financial Crisis, he co-chaired the G20 Working Group “Enhancing Sound Regulation and Strengthening Transparency” (2009), and the CGFS/BIS Working Group on “Capital Flows and Emerging Market Economies” (2009).

He has authored three books on urban economics and urban development; two on monetary policy: Monetary Policy in a Globalized Economy: A Practitioner’s View (2009), and Growth with Financial Stability: Central Banking in an Emerging Market. His most recent book (edited) is India Transformed: 25 Years of Economic Reforms.

Chair 

Anoop Singh

Anoop Singh is a Distinguished Fellow at CSEP and was a Member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission. Previously, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), his appointments included being Director of the Asia Pacific and Western Hemisphere Departments. He has also been Special Adviser to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He has taught at Georgetown University in Washington DC as an Adjunct Professor and has worked and written extensively on macroeconomic, surveillance, and crisis management issues.

Panelists

Amar Patnaik 

Amar Patnaik is a former Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (2019-2024) representing Biju Janata Dal from Odisha. He served on key parliamentary committees, including Finance and PSUs, and was also the national spokesperson and head of the IT wing for his party. Dr. Patnaik has 28 years of experience in the Indian Civil Services as an IA & AS officer under the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He holds a Ph.D. in Institutional Studies from XIMB, an MBA in Finance and Systems, a Master’s in Public Management from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Harvard’s Kennedy School, and an Advanced Management Certificate from the Wharton School. A Chevening Gurukul Scholar at the London School of Economics, he is also a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Internal Auditor, with expertise in risk management and assurance.

Subodh Mathur 

Subodh Mathur is a former Additional Controller General of Accounts. As a former member of the Indian Civil Accounts Service, he has more than 34 years of experience in public finance, budgeting, public finance law, government accounts, accounts of autonomous bodies, internal audit, FMIS and IT systems, HR management, and National Wealth Fund management. In his last assignment, he managed the Public Financial Management System – a flagship FMIS system of Government of India – for management of treasury receipts, payments & accounts as well as payments of Direct Cash Transfers and monitoring of ultimate utilisation of government funds.

Closing Remarks

Suman Bery

Suman Bery is the Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog. He has been associated with renowned International and national think tanks, and had a long career at the World Bank as well. He was Chief Economist of Royal Dutch Shell, and also served as Director-General (Chief Executive) of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi. In his decade leading NCAER, he was at various times member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, India’s Statistical Commission, and the Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy. His work has contributed to the political economy of reform, financial sector and banking reform, and energy trends and policy.

Presenters

Radha Malani

Radha Malani is a Research Analyst with the Growth, Finance and Development vertical. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She has completed the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University. Previously, Radha has worked with the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, EdJustice Foundation, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India and a political consultancy.

Shruti Gupta 

Shruti Gupta is a Research Associate in the Fiscal Governance team within the Growth, Finance, and Development vertical. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Ashoka University. Her research focuses on Public Finance Management, with a particular emphasis on addressing fiscal challenges in India.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.

Please contact Gurmeet Kaur at GKaur@csep.org for general queries and Ayesha Manocha at AManocha@csep.org for media queries.