Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her eighth consecutive and the Modi government's first full-year budget, since it came to power for the third straight time last year, on February 1 in the parliament. The budget will be presented against an estimated four-year low growth slowdown at 6.4% and persistent inflation concerns.
Sitharaman will be India's first finance minister to present eight consecutive budgets which also includes an interim budget. Among the key figures who will shape the union budget 2025-26, except the economic affairs secretary and chief economic adviser, the finance minister will have new members in her team. The members of the budget team are listed below.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Finance and Revenue Secretary
Tuhin Kanta Pandey is a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Odisha cadre. He took charge as the revenue secretary in the finance ministry just days ahead of the union budget on January 9 this year. He was appointed as the finance secretary last year in September.
Pandey served for almost five years as the department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) secretary from October 24, 2019.
In the upcoming budget, Pandey has the biggest challenge of raising revenue while simplifying the taxation system.
V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser
The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad alumnus V Anantha Nageswaran serves as the chief economic advisor (CEA) to the Government of India. He is also one of the prominent advisors to the finance minister.
The CEA is responsible for creating the macro-economic backdrop under which the budget targets are set and the Budget speech is written. He also drafted the Economic Survey, presented a day before the budget, along with his team of economists.
Notably, his three-year tenure will be over this financial year.
Ajay Seth, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary
Seth is one of the older members of the budget team, who has been at the helm of department of economic affairs (DEA) in the finance ministry since April 2021.
DEA is responsible for preparing the final budget documents and overseeing macroeconomic stability. It also focuses on fiscal planning, inter-ministerial coordination, and policy formulation.
Seth, a 1987 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, is also credited for the creation of the Infrastructure Finance Secretariat.
Manoj Govil, Expenditure Secretary
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur alumnus Govil will majorly focus on approving new schemes, setting spending guidelines, and resource transfers to states as the expenditure secretary. He is a 1991-batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre. Govil joined as expenditure secretary in August last year.
Before this, Govil was secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
M Nagaraju, Financial Services Secretary
A 1993 batch Tripura cadre IAS officer Nagaraju's main focus during this budget will be around adequate credit flow and deposit mobilisation, fintech regulations, expanding insurance coverage and deepening digital interface
Nagaraju was appointed as the secretary of the department of financial services (DFS) in August last year. He also served as an advisor to the executive director at the World Bank in Washington, DC, between 2008 and 2012.
He has also served as secretary and principal secretary in key departments such as Health, Women and Child Development, Finance, and Industries & Commerce.
Arunish Chawla, DIPAM Secretary
Chawla, a 1992-batch IAS officer from the Bihar cadre, joined as DIPAM secretary on January 8, after he completed a 15-day stint as revenue secretary. He earlier helmed the pharmaceuticals department.
Chawla has the crucial task of accelerating the divestment and asset monetisation programme, overseeing the strategic sale of IDBI Bank, and unlocking the value of non-core assets held by state-run enterprises.
