Finance Ministry's Chintan Shivir: AI in processes, "Just-in-Time" funds, and the roadmap beyond 2026
The Finance Ministry's two-day Chintan Shivir (Nov 14-15, Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan) focused on three priorities: smoothing "Just in Time" fund flows, practical uses of AI in government workflows, and the design and approval path for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) as the Fifteenth Finance Commission cycle ends on March 31, 2026.
Who was in the room
The Department of Expenditure convened finance departments from Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Delhi, and Rajasthan. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) joined for an interactive session on AI-its advantages, constraints, and what it would take to implement it well across government functions.
What was discussed
- "Just in Time" flow of funds: aligning releases with actual needs to reduce idle balances and improve cash management.
- AI in government processes: where it can deliver value, where the risks sit, and what guardrails are needed.
- CSS appraisal and approval: inputs sought from states on schemes that end by March 31, 2026, with continuity and redesign on the table as the current finance commission cycle wraps up.
Guidance for schemes beyond March 31, 2026
The government has asked all ministries and departments to submit additional details for central sector and centrally sponsored schemes that end and are proposed to continue beyond March 31, 2026. Officials presented ideas in small groups to spur fresh thinking and execution discipline.
- Respond to findings from third-party evaluations, with clear departmental comments.
- Provide year-wise allocations proposed for the next five years.
- List components to be dropped or modified, with justification.
Why this matters for finance and expenditure teams
- Better timing of releases cuts idle funds and interest costs while improving utilization rates.
- AI can speed up vetting, reconciliations, and grievance redressal-but only with quality data, accountable models, and auditability.
- CSS continuity beyond 2026 needs evidence-backed redesign, clean baselines, and realistic five-year projections.
AI in government processes: opportunities and friction points
- Where AI can help: document classification, fraud flags, beneficiary deduplication, demand forecasting, and faster analytics for fund release decisions.
- Challenges to solve: data standardization, privacy, model bias, procurement and vendor lock-in, and ensuring explainability for audits and CAG reviews.
- Governance must-haves: clear business owners, human-in-the-loop for approvals, versioning of models, and incident reporting for AI errors.
For reference: MeitY's policy guidance and programs are available at meity.gov.in, and details on the Fifteenth Finance Commission can be found at fincomindia.nic.in.
Practical steps to get ahead (Centre and States)
- Map all schemes ending by March 31, 2026. Assign owners for evaluation responses, financial projections, and component rationalization.
- Build a five-year allocation model per scheme using actuals, utilization trends, and unit cost updates. Document assumptions.
- Stand up an AI working group (finance + line departments + IT) to shortlist 2-3 high-impact pilots tied to measurable outcomes (e.g., time-to-release, error rates, or beneficiary verification time).
- Prepare for "Just in Time" flows: reconcile opening balances, tighten utilization certificate cycles, and agree release triggers with states/implementing agencies.
- Plan for audits: archive model versions, training data sources, exceptions handled, and decisions overridden by humans.
What to submit well
- Third-party evaluation responses that are specific: accept, partially accept, or reject with evidence and corrective action.
- Year-wise budget asks tied to outputs and outcomes, not just historical spending.
- Clear rationale for dropping or modifying components-cost overruns, overlap with other schemes, or poor outcomes.
If you're exploring AI upskilling for public finance teams
Structured learning can shorten the experimentation cycle. See curated options here: AI tools for finance.
The signal is clear: align cash to need, use AI where it proves value and holds up to audit, and lock in scheme continuity with stronger evidence and sharper budgets. Start the groundwork now-March 2026 will come fast.
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