The Budget Builders: Meet the people shaping India’s Union Budget this year

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her eighth budget on Feb 1, balancing multifarious demands while attempting to reignite the country’s slowing growth engine. The customary ‘halwa ceremony’, marking the final stage of the budget preparation, was held on Friday. Here are the people shaping the upcoming budget:

Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Finance and revenue secretary

A 1987 batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, Pandey has a tough task in hand as the finance and revenue secretary. He needs to ensure revenue mobilisation while balancing expectations of tax concessions from all quarters. Pandey, who took charge of the department barely days ahead of the budget, is overseeing the revamp of the income-tax law that could be introduced in the upcoming session.

V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief economic adviser

An IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus and a doctoral degree holder from University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Nageswaran has served as a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. The Economic Survey authored by him and his team will be keenly watched for firming up a reforms and deregulation blueprint to spur growth and prepare for a more uncertain, and arguably deglobalising, world.

Manoj Govil, Secretary, Department of Expenditure

A 1991 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, Govil was secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs before joining the Department of Expenditure. Rationalisation of subsidies and centrally sponsored schemes while improving quality of spending are some of the key tasks in hand for him.

Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs

Seth helms the department that prepares the final budget documents and oversees macroeconomic stability. A 1987 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, he has the tricky task of balancing growth and fiscal consolidation imperatives amid rising clamour for consumption stimulus. All eyes will be on him as India plans to transition to a debt target in its fiscal consolidation framework.

M Nagaraju Secretary, Department of Financial Services

Before joining DFS, Nagaraju was additional secretary of coal. He led the opening up of the sector through private commercial mining with auctioning of more than 115 coal mines. Ensuring adequate credit flow and deposit mobilisation, regulating fintechs, expanding insurance coverage and deepening digital interface will be some of the key focus areas for this 1993 batch Tripura cadre IAS officer.

Arunish Chawla Secretary, DIPAM and DPE

A new member in the finance minister’s team, Chawla earlier helmed the pharmaceuticals department. A 1992 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, he has the challenging task in hand of accelerating the divestment and asset monetisation programme, strategic sale of IDBI Bank and unlocking value of non-core assets of state-run enterprises.