FM Nirmala Sitharaman to launch ‘NITI NCAER States Economic Forum’ portal on April 1

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Amid complaints by Opposition-ruled States that they faced discrimination in the sharing of resources, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Tuesday (April 1, 2025) launch a website developed by the NITI Aayog and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on State finances.

According to the Niti Aayog, the portal will be a “comprehensive repository” of data on social, economic and fiscal parameters, research reports, papers, and expert commentary on the finances of States for about 30 years from 1990-91 to 2022-23.

The ‘NITI NCAER States Economic Forum’ portal has four main components, including State reports, data repository, state fiscal and economic dashboard and research and commentary.

The Niti Aayog said in a statement in New Delhi on Monday (March 31, 2025) that the State Reports will summarise the macro and fiscal landscape of 28 Indian States, structured around indicators on demography, economic structure, socio-economic, and fiscal indicators. The data repository will offer direct access to the complete database categorised across five verticals, including demography, economic structure, fiscal, health, and education.

In the ‘State Fiscal and Economic Dashboard’, graphical representations of key economic variables will be available. The ‘Research and Commentary’ will have details of extensive research on State finances and critical aspects of fiscal policy and financial management at the State and national levels.

“The portal will facilitate an understanding of macro, fiscal, demographic, and socio-economic trends; easily accessible data and user-friendly format and will also address the ongoing need for consolidated sectoral data in one place. It will further help in benchmarking the data of each State against that of other States and the national figures. It will also provide a forum to policymakers, researchers, and others interested in alluding to the data for informed debates and discussions,” the Niti Aayog said.