The Making of Budget 2024: Meet Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s team

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present her sixth straight Budget today (1 February). The final stage of the preparation process for the interim budget began with the traditional pre-budget “halwa” ceremony held on 24 January. The full budget for the fiscal year 2024–25 will be unveiled in July by the incoming government. Drafting the Budget The annual budget serves as a fundamental financial blueprint established by the government at the Centre. It outlines projected government earnings and expenses for the upcoming fiscal year. According to News18, the process of drafting the budget begins over six months before the budget presentation. It is spearheaded by top bureaucrats in the PMO and the Finance Ministry. After the traditional “halwa” ceremony, the North Block in New Delhi’s Raisina Hill, which houses the Finance Ministry, enters the “lock-in period to maintain the confidentiality of the final document.

#WATCH | Delhi | The Halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of the Budget preparation process for Interim Union Budget 2024, was held in North Block, today, in the presence of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance… pic.twitter.com/wjoyI5QqQ3

— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2024

This year, an interim budget will be presented by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Parliament. It is a short-term financial plan that covers government expenses until a new government takes charge after elections, NDTV explained. The regular budget process may be interrupted during election years by the shifting of power. To guarantee that government operations and key services run smoothly until the next administration assumes control, the departing government prepares an interim budget, as per another report by NDTV Profit. Key members of the Budget Nirmala Sitharaman Sitharaman is a senior BJP leader and India’s first full-time female finance minister. With a degree in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in the National Capital, she held the commerce and defence portfolios during Narendra Modi’s first tenure as Prime Minister. As a Finance Minister, she presented her first full budget on 5 July 2019. A Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, the 64-year-old will become the only second finance minister to deliver six straight budgets after Morarji Desai. [caption id=“attachment_12986262” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Source: SansadTV[/caption] In December last year, Sitharaman ruled out any “spectacular announcement” for her budget for the upcoming Thursday. She said it would simply be a “vote on account” before the general elections. On Thursday, Sitharaman said that the government policy would focus on youth, women, farmers, and the poor, raising expectations of some key announcements for these priority groups. TV Somanathan As the senior-most secretary among the five in the ministry, TV Somanathan holds the charge of the finance secretary. A 1987 batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre, he is the secretary in the expenditure department. [caption id=“attachment_13669782” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Finance Secretary TV Somanathan. ANI[/caption] Somanathan, who was earlier in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), has also served as joint secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and as Director at the World Bank, Washington, DC, on deputation, according to Business Standard. A Ph.D. in economics, he has authored two books and published more than 80 papers and articles on economics. Ajay Seth The secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) is also a 1987 batch IAS officer from the Karnataka cadre. Last year, he was in the news as he served as the officer in-charge of the finance track of the G20 bloc that India hosted for the first time in September 2023. In the past, he has also headed initiatives such as India’s first sovereign green bond issuance and the creation of the infrastructure finance secretariat. [caption id=“attachment_13669992” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. ANI[/caption] Tuhin Kanta Pandey The secretary, DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management), is a 1987 batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, according to the report. He is known for leading the efforts to privatise Air India and the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). [caption id=“attachment_13669822” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey. ANI[/caption] Sanjay Malhotra Malhotra serves as the revenue secretary and is a 1990 batch bureaucrat from the Rajasthan cadre. He previously headed the Department of Financial Services. [caption id=“attachment_13669832” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra. Image Courtesy: @AirportGenCus/X[/caption] According to the report, he ensures that tax revenue growth is maintained to keep the government on the fiscal consolidation path. He is also one of the key people who drafts Part B of Sitharaman’s budget speech. Vivek Joshi Joshi, one of the newest members of the group of top advisors, joined the ministry in November 2022 as a secretary in the Department of Financial Services. He holds a doctorate in international economics from the University of Geneva and is a 1989 batch IAS officer from the Haryana cadre. Before being financial services secretary, he was the registrar general and the census commissioner of India. [caption id=“attachment_13669872” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Union Secretary Department of Financial Service (Finance Ministry) Vivek Joshi. ANI[/caption] V Anantha Nageswaram According to the Hindustan Times, Nageswaram is the chief economic advisor (CEA). Also an author and teacher, he is believed to be one of the “closest advisors” to Sitharaman on issues related to the economy, global developments, and their impact on the Indian economy. He is an MBA graduate from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and holds a doctorate from the Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, according to Business Standard. [caption id=“attachment_13669962” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Chief Economic Advisor Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran. Image Courtesy: @FinMinIndia/X[/caption] Along with Seth, he was also at the forefront of the finance track discussions, representing India during the G20 Presidency in New Delhi. While he is also responsible for the Economic Survey, which is published ahead of the budget, the exercise is being skipped this year as the budget will be interim. PK Mishra According to News18, Mishra is a cabinet-ranking bureaucrat who manages all important policy matters of the government. Arvind Shrivastava The Finance and Economy officer in the PMO is a 1994-batch IAS officer from the Karnataka cadre. He supervises the ministries of finance and corporate affairs and NITI Aayog. He joined the PMO from the Finance Ministry, where he was Joint Secretary. Punya Salila Srivastava The 1993-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre handles the social and welfare verticals, according to News18. She served as Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry from November 2020 to October 2021, after which she moved to the PMO. She was also instrumental in briefing the media daily during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hari Ranjan Rao The 1994-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre supervises technology and governance verticals at the PMO. He is the former secretary of the former MP chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Before joining the PMO, he was posted in the Department of Telecommunications. Atish Chandra Chandra, a 1994-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, handles the rural development vertical. Earlier, he was posted as Food Corporation of India CMD. With inputs from agencies