On February 1, the country’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present the third budget of the third tenure of the Modi government. Image Credit source: ChatGPT
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is preparing to present her ninth consecutive budget and an experienced team of bureaucrats from the Finance Ministry is assisting her in this work. The Finance Minister will present the budget in the Lok Sabha on February 1 against the backdrop of 7.4 percent growth rate and uncertain geopolitical environment. This will be the third full budget of the third term of the Modi government. The special thing is that this time the command of budget making is in the hands of a woman officer. Let us also tell you which officers are involved in preparing the Budget 2026-27…
Anuradha Thakur, Economic Affairs Secretary
Thakur is the chief architect of the budget. As head of the department, she is the key official in allocating resources and deciding the macroeconomic framework for 2026-27. She heads the Budget Division, which is responsible for preparing budget documents. This will be the first budget of Thakur, a 1994 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, as she took command of this department on July 1, 2025. She is the first woman IAS officer to lead this department.
Arvind Srivastava, Revenue Secretary
Srivastava is responsible for the tax proposals (Part-B of the budget speech). His team manages direct taxes (Income Tax, Corporate Tax) and indirect taxes (GST, Customs). Although this will be his first budget as Revenue Secretary, Srivastava has been Joint Secretary of the Budget Division in his previous tenure in the Finance Ministry. Subsequently, he moved to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), where he looked after the Finance Ministry, among other matters. Amid expectations of customs duty and TDS rationalization, their role in revenue generation is quite important.
Wumlunmang Wualnam, Expenditure Secretary
As the ‘custodian of the treasury’ he oversees government expenditure, rationalization of subsidies and implementation of central schemes. His department enforces fiscal discipline to manage the fiscal deficit and provides guidance for the next fiscal year.
M Nagaraju, Financial Services Secretary
The Department of Financial Services is involved in running the financial inclusion and social security schemes of the government. His department monitors the financial health of public sector banks, insurance companies and pension systems. This department is instrumental in carrying forward the economic agenda of the government including credit growth, digitization and social security initiatives.
Arunish Chawla, DIPAM Secretary
Responsible for drafting the government’s disinvestment and privatization. He manages the non-tax revenue targets to be achieved by selling stake in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
K Moses Chalai, Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises
As the head of this department, he is responsible for ensuring effective utilization of capital expenditure plans and budgetary allocations of selected public undertakings. His department also plays a role in asset monetization and monitoring the overall financial health of government companies. Apart from these six departments under the Finance Ministry, the Office of the Chief Economic Advisor also gives important suggestions in the budget.
V Ananth Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor
His office provides critical inputs that define the overall macroeconomic context for the budget. This includes forecasting economic growth, analyzing the performance of different sectors (agriculture, industry, services) and assessing global risks. In addition, his office also advises the Finance Minister on major economic reforms, fiscal policy and financial strategy.