The whole country is waiting for 1st February, the day when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table Union Budget for the Financial Year 2021-22 in the Parliament. The budget for the next fiscal year is crucial as it will showcase the government's vision on how to it plans to tackle the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the Indian economy. On the 1st of February, Nirmala Sitaraman will be the cynosure for both media and the general public. However, let's not forget that there is a team of senior civil servants and economists who help the Finance minister in finalising the Budget proposals.
Let's take a look at the key members of Nirmala Sitharaman's team who helped her in preparing Union Budget 2021-22:
TV Somnathan: The 1987 batch officer from Tamil Nadu cadre, Somnathan is a very important figure for the Financial Ministry. He serves as the expenditure secretary, where he basically allocates money for stimulus packages in the budget. He is known to be close to Modi and a majority of recommendations from the PMO are said to be routed through him due to his stint in the Prime Minister Office (PMO) between 2015 and 2017.
Tarun Bajaj: A 1988 batch officer from Haryana cadre, Tarun Bajaj holds the secretary of the department of investment and public asset management. Bajaj is now the economic affairs secretary and is likely to draft Sitharaman's budget speech. The budget division, which puts together all inputs and prepares the budget, reports to him. He has played an important role in shaping the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” narrative.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey: The secretary of the department of investment in the Nirmala Sitharaman office, Tuhin Kanta Pandey is 1987-batch officer from Odisha cadre. His department will focus on the ambitious privatisation plan, with another attempt to launch it amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The responsibility of ensuring fruition of these deals is on Pandey. His priorities are likely to be the privatisation of Bharat Petroleum, Concor, Shipping Corp, Air India, and the expected IPO of LIC.
Ajay Bhushan Pandey: Regarded as one of the most powerful bureaucrats in the country, Ajay Bhushan Pandey is a Maharashtra cadre from the 1984 batch. He heads the revenue department in the Finance Ministry office. His designation is Finance secretary and he is always in direct connection with the Finance Minister, being the senior-most out of the five secretaries in the office.
Debashish Panda: A bureaucrat from 1987 batch of Uttar Pradesh, Debashish Panda heads the department of financial services and all the announcements in the budget related to the financial sector. Panda also works with the RBI to ensure stability and regulations of the financial system.
Krishnamurthy Subramaniam: An alumnus of IIT, IIM and University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Krishnamurthy Subramaniam is the chief economic advisor to the government of India. He is responsible for drafting the Economic Survey of 2020-21 which is supposed to be a precursor to the union budget. Post lockdown, he had predicted a 'V-shaped' recovery for India. Before taking up his current role as chief economic adviser, Subramanian was a professor at Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
