Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries in Delhi on 27-28 December 2025. The conference is important for governance because it works as a high-level Centre-State forum for cooperative federalism, structured dialogue, and coordinated action on national development priorities. The overarching theme of the 5th conference was “Human Capital for Viksit Bharat”, so the focus was not just routine administrative review; it was on the capabilities that shape citizen productivity and state capacity over the long term.
The major discussion areas were early childhood care and education, school education, skilling, higher education, and sports and extracurricular activities. Special sessions covered deregulation in states, technology in governance, AgriStack, “One State, One World Class Tourist Destination”, Atmanirbhar Bharat and Swadeshi, and plans for a post-LWE future. The agenda drew on deliberations involving Central Ministries and Departments, NITI Aayog, States and Union Territories, and domain experts, with attention to best practices and strategies for States and UTs.
For exam preparation, this update links directly with Indian Polity and Governance, cooperative federalism, policy implementation, and human capital formation. Prelims questions can ask the sequence of the conference, place, dates, theme, and discussion areas. In mains, it can be used as an example for Centre-State coordination, education reform, skilling, and the Viksit Bharat framework. It is also useful to remember the institutional continuity: the National Conference of Chief Secretaries has been organised annually over the past four years, starting with Dharamshala in June 2022, followed by New Delhi conferences in January 2023, December 2023, and December 2024.