Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday called for intensifying cooperation among countries to address rising challenges posed by digital financial structures, complex assets and cross-border risks, asserting that no single jurisdiction can manage these developments in isolation.

“There are new challenges that call for joint action. The digitalisation of the economy, the emergence of new financial products, and evolving structures of beneficial ownership require continued cooperation between jurisdictions. Confidentiality and cybersecurity must also be maintained with great care. These are not challenges that any one country can address alone. They demand coordination, trust, and timely exchange of relevant information,” Sitharaman said while addressing the 18th plenary meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes of the OECD.

The finance minister said transparency in tax matters has evolved from being a procedural reform to a core element of global economic governance. Over the past two decades, she said, secrecy-based financial systems have steadily given way to transparency, compliance and responsible conduct — an outcome achieved through collective resolve rather than unilateral policy shifts.

“For India, transparency in tax matters has always gone beyond administrative reform. It touches upon a deeper principle that economic governance must rest on fairness and responsibility,” she noted, arguing that societies become stronger when legitimate tax contributions are made and evasion is deterred effectively.

Sitharaman highlighted India’s legal and enforcement initiatives against illicit financial flows and undisclosed foreign assets, along with its active role in information-on-request and automatic exchange of information frameworks. Transparency, she stressed, has a direct development impact, as tax revenues fuel public infrastructure, welfare programmes and social investments. “Every rupee or dollar mobilised through transparency helps improve lives,” she said.

She pointed to the rise in voluntary tax compliance in India, attributing the shift to simplification, clarity and trust-building rather than coercion.