As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the interim budget for the year 2024 in the Lok Sabha today, 1 February, at 11 am, she will be doing it for the sixth time. But, this time, she will be presenting the last budget of the current Lok Sabha as the general election is due in few months.

Behind any budget, there is always an experienced team, who does extensive discussions with business heads and other stakeholders of industry, and proper research of all aspects of current economic situation before preparing the budget under the guidance of their leader.

And, when it’s the Union budget, naturally the stakes are higher and the bureaucrats in the Finance Ministry, including Finance Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Economic Affairs Secretary, play a very important role in the team, led, of course, by the Finance Minister.

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On the day the Budget-2024 is going to be presented in Parliament, Indian Masterminds presents short profiles of the bureaucrats who have played critical roles in it.

TV SOMANATHAN

1987 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, Mr. TV Somanathan can be deemed the most important person behind the budget-2024. He is the Finance Secretary of India (Department of Expenditure). He is considered to be very close to PM Modi. Earlier he was Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office from April 2015 to August 2017. Prior to this, he was working as Director at the World Bank, Washington D.C., on deputation.

Hailing from Tamil Nadu, he has done PhD in Economics, and has published more than 80 papers and articles on the subject. He also has an Executive Development Program diploma from Harvard Business School.

He has served in important posts in Tamil Nadu. And, he is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries, London, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, London, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India.

AJAY SETH

1987 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, Mr. Ajay Seth is the second big face of the Finance Minister’s budget team. He is currently Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry.
Mr. Seth is also known for initiating the issuance of India’s first sovereign green bond and the creation of the ‘Infrastructure Finance Secretariat’. Last year, he was in the headlines during the G20 summit chaired by India.

As the head of the Department of Economic Affairs, he plays a crucial role in the country’s monetary and market-related policies, functioning as the bridge between the central government and regulators such as the RBI & SEBI.

In his previous stint at the Finance Ministry, he served as Deputy Secretary and Director in the Department of Expenditure and Department of Economic Affairs between 2000 and 2004.
Mr. Seth is a mechanical engineer and a management post-graduate.

TUHIN KANTA PANDEY

Mr. Tuhin Kanta Pandey, an IAS officer of 1987 batch, is another important face in the budget team. He is currently the Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and has been on this post since 2019. He belongs to the Odisha cadre.

He is recognized for his role in the privatization of Air-India and the country’s largest IPO, LIC. As the DIPAM Secretary, he worked to manage expectations regarding the government’s disinvestments.
He is a Master’s in Economics from Punjab University and has done his MBA from UK. He has served in various capacities both in Odisha and at the Centre.

In 2009, Mr. Pandey was appointed as Joint Secretary of Planning Commission for five years and, thereafter, as Joint Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat for a period of two years.

SANJAY MALHOTRA

Taxes are the major source of revenue for a government and that is why, the role of Mr. Sanjay Malhotra is very significant. He has the responsibility of increasing tax revenue without laying too much burden on the common man. He handles the responsibility of increasing tax revenue in the budget process.
The 1990-batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre is the Revenue Secretary.

The topper in UPSC-CSE 1990 is an IIT-Kanpur alumnus and did B.Tech in Computer Science. He also holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University, US.

Mr. Malhotra also has the responsibility of drafting Part B of Finance Minister Sitharaman’s budget speech. Before this, he was Secretary in the Financial Services Department, i.e. Banking Division.
He is the ex-officio Secretary to the GST Council. He has also worked as Chairman and Managing Director of the state-run REC.

NITIN GUPTA

1986 batch IRS officer Nitin Gupta is the Chairman of Direct Taxes Board and CBDT. In September 2023, the Union government gave a nine-month extension in his service as CBDT Chairperson.
He is also part of the budget team and has helped in preparing proposals related to income tax, corporate tax and direct tax.

It is believed that his proposal is important in this budget being presented just before the general elections, as the CBDT is the apex policy-making body for the Income Tax department.

VIVEK JOSHI

1989 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, Mr. Vivek Joshi joined the Finance Ministry as Secretary of the Financial Services Department in November, 2022.

He is the newest in the group of advisors of Finance Minister Sitharaman. In this assignment, he deals with policies, schemes and legislations related to the banking sector, including Public Sector Banks, insurance sector, financial Institutions, financial inclusion, and pension reforms. He is also serving as a member on the boards of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and State Bank of India (SBI).

He has previously been the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

He holds a PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute Geneva, Switzerland. He is also an alumnus of IIT Roorkee, where he did his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering.

SANJAY KUMAR AGARWAL

1988 batch IRS (C&IT) officer Sanjay Kumar Agarwal is the Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) and Special Secretary to the Government of India. All indirect tax related proposals included in this budget passed through his table.

He has worked in various capacities in Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and GST field formations. He has made important contribution in the budget on proposals related to indirect tax, changes in custom duty and GST. He is also an officer of GST and Custom Department in the Indian Revenue Service.

PUNYA SALILA SRIVASTAVA

Another officer in the team is 1993 batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, Ms. Punya Salila Srivastava. She was appointed as Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry from November 2020 to October 2021, after which she was moved to the PMO. She was part of the team which briefed the media daily during the Covid pandemic. She handles the social and welfare verticals.

ARVIND SRIVASTAVA

1994 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, Mr. Arvind Shrivastava is the Finance and Economy officer in the PMO. The ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs and NITI Aayog come under his purview.
He joined the PMO from the Finance Ministry where he was Joint Secretary. His inputs are important for the budget as he is in the PMO.

ASHISH VACHHANI

1997 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, Mr. Ashish Vachhani is an Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry and the budget officer. He has long experience in policy formulation and implementation.
He has postgraduated in Public Management and Governance from London School of Economics and Political Science as Chevening – HSBC scholar.