OCTOBER 08, 2025

Sitare Zameen Par

By Vijay Kumar

ON 6th October 2025, the Taj Palace in New Delhi transformed into a fiscal constellation. Economists, judges, ministers, and mandarins descended-not for a summit, but for a Congress. Not to debate policy, but to decode it.

Welcome to TIOL TAX CONGRESS 2025.

Before the microphones warmed up and the metaphors flew, we had to acknowledge the sheer weight of the guest list. These weren't just attendees-they were the people who manage the finances of nations, shape tax codes, and occasionally rewrite economic history.

We had with us:

Lord Nicholas Stern, globally recognised economist, banker and academic, Professor of Economics at London School of Economics and Member of the House of Lords;

Dr. Shankar Acharya, celebrated economist who was Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India for eight years;

Dr P Thiaga Rajan, Minister for IT & Digital Services, Govt of Tamil Nadu;

Shri. NK Singh, former Revenue Secretary, Rajya Sabha MP, Secretary to the Prime Minister, Chairman of 15th Finance Commission;

Justice Sanjiv Khanna, former Chief Justice of India;

Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Tanzania;

Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India;

Shri N Venkataraman, Additional Solicitor General of India;

H.E. Anisa K Mbega, Ambassador of United Republic of Tanzania;

Shri Shashank Priya, Member (GST), CBIC;

Shri Sanjay Bahadur, Member, CBDT;

Shri M K Sinha, CEO, GST Network;

Shri Pramod Kumar, former Vice President, ITAT;

Shri Sumit Dutt Mazumdar, former Chairman, CBEC;

From the Himalayas, a special delegation from Nepal:

Prof. BISHWAMBHER, PYAKURYAL, professor of Economics for 39 years at Tribhuvan University.

Ms. BHAWANI RANA Former President of Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry

SHRI MADHU KUMAR MARASINI Former Finance Secretary, Nepal

Ms. Anjalika Sinha, a fourth-generation advocate in Nepal, whose father is a minister in the new cabinet.

And yes, the room brimmed with industry leaders, judges, officers, consultants, and lawyers-too many to list, but none too dull.

How do you host a fiscal summit without spreadsheets? Easy. Just hand out microphones and let the economists do what they do best-talk sense, raise eyebrows, and occasionally rewrite history.

I kicked off the day by welcoming Anjalika Sinha, our youngest guest and Nepal's Gen Z lawyer, already fluent in both law and legacy - and the other distinguished guests.

Before the microphones warmed up, we launched a book that's part editorial archive, part institutional mischief, and entirely TIOL: THE COB(WEB) TURNS TWENTY: 60 TALES OF INTAXICATING SAILING, authored by our founder editor, Dr. Shailendra Kumar.

It's not a memoir-it's a mosaic. Sixty tales that chronicle two decades of fiscal fog, editorial clarity, and the occasional tax tempest. The book was launched by Shri N Venkataraman, Additional Solicitor General of India, with the precision of a litigator and the flair of a fiscal raconteur.

Then came the inaugural session, opened by Hon'ble Justice Mohamed Chande Othman, former Chief Justice of Tanzania, and Shri Shailesh Haribhakti, seasoned economic thinker and moderator-in-chief. Between judicial wisdom and economic foresight, the tone was set: this Congress would not be a seminar-it would be a conversation.

And just like that, the Congress was officially underway. No ribbon cutting. Just ideas, microphones, and a room full of people who've read more footnotes than fiction.

Technical Sessions (Jest GST Remix)

The GST 2.0 session was chaired by Shri Shashank Priya, Member (GST), CBIC, and moderated by the formidable advocate Shri Jai Kumar-who asked questions with the precision of a scalpel and the timing of a tax raid.

The panel featured Shri M K Sinha (CEO, GST Network), Shri Sanjeev Agarwal (Tax Head, Luxury Automotive MNC), and Shri Rajat Chhabra (Partner, Taxcraft). Topics ranged from pre-deposit for appeals in GSTAT to anti-profiteering and amnesty schemes. Surprisingly, no tempers flared. No acrimony. Just constructive debate-proof that GST 2.0 might be more evolved than some political debates.

The Departmental officers responded with candour and clarity. For once, the only thing missing was a dissenting note.

AI - Accelerating India (and Consultant Anxiety)

Next came the AI session, chaired by Shri Sanjay Bahadur, Member, CBDT. On the panel: Shri Rajesh Jindal (Principal DG, DG Systems, CBIC) and Shri Ashish Chandra (Chief Legal & Risk Officer, Junglee India Pvt. Ltd.).

Moderator Shri Shailesh Haribhakti opened the floor to the audience-and the questions came fast: What can AI tell on arrest? Can it replace advocates?

The experts reassured the room: AI may be accelerating India, but it's not replacing consultants anytime soon. If anything, it's giving them more work-and more existential questions to bill for.

M&A 360°: Tax Navigation & Value Maximisation

This session was chaired by Shri Ajay Vohra, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court, and moderated by Ms Poonita Harsh Kundra, Partner, Vaish Associates.

It was a masterclass in fiscal choreography-where mergers met margins, and acquisitions were dissected with surgical precision. No jargon was spared. No loophole left unexplored.

Awards & The Fiscal Conversation

After the technical sessions, we paused for applause. The TIOL Awards were presented across categories-trade, Department, consultants, and law schools. Recognition was given not just for compliance, but for courage, clarity, and the occasional creative interpretation of tax law.

But the most intellectually charged moment of the day came next: A ‘Fiscal Conversation' on "How should India navigate the stormy geo-economic and geopolitical turmoil" featuring Lord Nicholas Stern and Dr. Shankar Acharya, anchored by Shri NK Singh.

It wasn't a panel. It was a duel of minds-moderated with surgical precision and a touch of theatrical flair.

NK Singh opened with a lament

"We're witnessing the terminal decline of international institutions-including the WTO. And yet, Trump is getting away with it. The Europeans lined up to play court. The Japanese endured insults. The Swiss were spurned. Nick, how long will this supine attitude last?"

Lord Nicholas Stern responded:

"I hope not very long. The answer is coalitions. Build them. Strengthen ties with Asia. Don't get picked off one by one. Institutions take time to build and seconds to destroy. If the US steps away, they'll be the losers. Short-run policies bite back."

Dr. Shankar Acharya added:

"India must reach out to Asia. We missed RCEP. But we should try to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. Coalitions matter."

NK Singh closed with statesmanlike optimism:

"If Trump is a disruptor, the world must adjust and outlast. Sanity and reason will triumph-though some may pay a high price."

It was a conversation that felt less like a fiscal debate and more like a geopolitical opera-with trade agreements as verses and WTO as the fading chorus.

Tributes, Citations & Closing Moments

The Congress wasn't just about policy and panels-it was also about memory and meaning.

TIOL Outstanding Diaspora Award 2025

Conferred posthumously on Lord Meghnad Desai, and received by Ms. Kishwar Desai, who turned grief into grace and humour into homage. Her speech had the audience in splits-and then in silence. She spoke of his crowded library, his sharp wit, and the quiet ache of absence.

Our citation for Lord Meghnad Desai mentioned:

Lord Meghnad Desai: The Maverick Economist. The Diaspora Luminary. The Voice That Crossed Borders Without Losing Accent.

From Vadodara to Westminster, Lord Meghnad Desai has never followed a script-he's rewritten them. As an economist, professor, parliamentarian, and public intellectual, he spent over six decades challenging orthodoxy, championing pluralism, and proving that diaspora doesn't mean distance-it means depth.

His economic writings unravelled orthodoxy with the precision of a surgeon -and the mischief of a cartoonist. In Marx's Revenge , he cheekily argued that capitalism outlived its critics-Marx included.

It was a moment where satire met sentiment-and both stood still.

TIOL Kautilya Global Award 2025

Presented to Lord Nicholas Stern. Our citation echoed the title of his landmark book:

Why are we waiting?

That's not just a question. It's a challenge. And it's the title of Lord Nicholas Stern's landmark 2015 book.

In that book, he concluded with a call to action that still echoes across continents:

We are at a remarkable point in history. We have a chance to combine the profound structural changes we are seeing in the world economy and extraordinary technological change on the one hand with a rapid transition to a low-carbon economy on the other. We can simultaneously find a much more attractive way to grow and develop, overcome poverty, and radically reduce the grave risks of climate change. We must decide and act or the opportunity will be lost. The time is now. Why are we waiting?

Lord Stern has never waited. From the Stern Review of 2006, where he declared climate change to be "the greatest market failure in history," to his 2015 book Why Are We Waiting? Lord Stern has never been afraid of asking the hardest questions-or of answering them with clarity, urgency, and hope.

But beyond the statistics, models, and projections, Lord Stern is something rarer: a philosopher of progress, a cartographer of possibility, and-if we may add-a relentless optimist who insists that courage can be more contagious than carbon.

TIOL Fiscal Heritage Award 2025

Presented to Dr. Shankar Acharya, former Chief Economic Adviser. Our citation read:

Dr. Shankar Acharya - Architect of Reform. Guardian of Stability. Voice of Reason. Occasional Slayer of Economic Nonsense.

His fingerprints are on India's tax reforms, external sector policies, and fiscal frameworks. Dr. Acharya quietly shaped history-with a spreadsheet in hand and an eyebrow raised at economic folly.

For decades, he has been the conscience of India's economic discourse: never shrill, always sharp.

From the World Bank to North Block, from policy papers to public debates, Dr. Acharya has always reminded us that reform is not a sprint-it's a marathon with fiscal shoes and political weather.

Justice Khanna also spoke at length about tax law and economics, quoting judgments with the elegance of a jurist and the precision of a poet.

We then celebrated the 25th anniversary of TIOL

With Lord Nicholas Stern, Dr. P Thiaga Rajan (Tamil Nadu Minister) and Mr. Sumit Dutt Majumder, former Chairman, CBEC. A moment of institutional pride, editorial nostalgia, and a few smiles over how far we've come (and how many acronyms we've survived).

As I escorted Lord Nicholas Stern out, I told him,"next time we meet, you should be a Nobel Laureate."

We are confident he will get it!