Fifth National Conference of Chief Secretaries to Strengthen Vision of Cooperative Federalism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the fifth National Conference of Chief Secretaries in New Delhi on 27th and 28th December 2025 , according to an official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Friday.

The conference has been organised to strengthen Centre–State cooperation through structured and sustained dialogue on national development priorities. Anchored in the Prime Minister’s vision of cooperative federalism, the event will serve as a platform where policies and strategies are jointly discussed to maximise India’s human capital and promote inclusive, future-ready growth.

The three-day conference, scheduled from 26th to 28th December , will include intensive deliberations aimed at finalising a common development agenda . The discussions are designed to move beyond viewing India’s population merely as a demographic dividend and instead position citizens as human capital through strategies to strengthen education systems, skill development, and employment opportunities across the country.

The overarching theme of the conference is “Human Capital for Viksit Bharat”, which has been finalised after extensive consultations between Central ministries and departments, NITI Aayog, States and Union Territories, and domain experts.

Under this theme, five key areas will be focused upon: Early Childhood Education, Schooling, Skilling, Higher Education, and Sports & Extracurricular Activities. Best practices and policy strategies followed by States and Union Territories will be shared and discussed during the sessions.

In addition, six special sessions will be held on Deregulation in States; Technology in Governance: Opportunities, Risks & Mitigation; AgriStack for Smart Supply Chains & Market Linkages; One State, One World Class Tourist Destination; Atmanirbhar Bharat & Swadeshi; and Plans for a Post-Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Future.

Focused deliberations will also take place during meals on Heritage & Manuscript Preservation and Digitisation, as well as Ayush for All, which aims to integrate traditional knowledge systems into primary healthcare delivery.

The National Conference of Chief Secretaries has been held annually over the past four years. The first conference took place in Dharamshala in June 2022, followed by meetings in New Delhi in January 2023, December 2023, and December 2024.

Approximately 36 top officials, including Chief Secretaries of all 28 States, Chief Secretaries of Union Territories with legislative assemblies (Delhi, Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir), and senior administrative officers from other UTs, are expected to participate in the conference.

Participants will collectively contribute to finalising strategies for human capital development and collaborative national growth, reinforcing the Centre–State partnership in India’s development journey.