Start
March 19, 2026 - 9:00 am
End
March 20, 2026 - 5:00 pm
India’s economy is undergoing a period of deep transition. Global political and economic shifts—ranging from slowing multilateralism and rising protectionism to realignments in global value chains—are challenging established patterns of growth and trade. At the same time, domestic transformations—shaped by the adoption of new technologies, evolving labour markets, demographic shifts and migration, regulatory and institutional reforms, energy and climate pressures, and changes in public finance—are reshaping the foundations of economic activity within the country.
These developments are unfolding alongside longer-term structural challenges: the quest to generate quality employment at scale, the need to invigorate productivity in agriculture, industry and services, and the imperative to build robust institutions capable of supporting a rapidly changing economy. India must also deepen its integration into global value chains, attract higher and more diversified FDI, and address unexploited export potential—particularly in goods—if it is to strengthen its global competitiveness. State-level differences in economic structures, governance capabilities and reform momentum, together with the growing importance of local institutions, will play a crucial role in shaping how these opportunities are realized. At the same time, persistently low female labour force participation, the evolving care economy, and gendered labour market dynamics represent significant untapped economic potential. India’s demographic profile, expanding markets, urbanization and spatial reorganization, digital infrastructure, and growing scientific, innovation and technological capabilities offer new avenues for progress—but they also require careful analysis and informed policy choices.
In this wider context, the drivers of India’s economic engagement and domestic transformation are themselves evolving. The reconfiguration of global value chains, the search for supply-chain resilience, and shifts in technology and energy systems are reshaping how India participates in the global economy and how domestic sectors compete. With multilateral mechanisms weakening, bilateral and regional arrangements are becoming increasingly important avenues for international engagement, while domestic reforms in regulation, logistics, investment facilitation and skill development are emerging as central to strengthening India’s productive base. At the same time, the digital and green transitions, the growing importance of state- and local-level governance, changing migration patterns, emerging risks in finance and climate, and challenges related to gender, care work and household-level labour allocation highlight the need for renewed analytical attention to how India manages complexity across multiple layers of its economy.
The purpose of this conference is to bring together rigorous scholarship that can inform policy thinking on these emerging challenges and opportunities. We welcome contributions that examine contemporary developments, identify medium-term shifts, or offer fresh conceptual and empirical insights into India’s evolving growth landscape.