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Budget 2026: India’s economic direction is in the hands of these 7 veteran officers, know who are ‘Team Budget’?

Samira Vishwas | January 28, 2026 1:24 AM CST

Union Budget 2026: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present her 9th consecutive Union Budget (Budget 2026) on 1 February. The country has many big expectations from the third full budget of Modi Government 3.0, especially when the government is targeting a growth rate of 7.4 percent and economic uncertainties remain at the global level.

A strong team of seven experienced bureaucrats of the Finance Ministry is playing an important role in preparing this challenging budget, which is being called ‘Team Budget 2026’.

Anuradha Thakur (Economic Affairs Secretary)

The most important link of this team is Anuradha Thakur, who is the Secretary of Economic Affairs. Anuradha Thakur, a 1994 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, is considered the ‘chief architect’ of the budget. She is the first woman officer to lead this department. They are responsible for allocating resources and finalizing budget documents.

Arvind Srivastava (Revenue Secretary)

Revenue Secretary Arvind Srivastava is responsible for all tax proposals. Important decisions like tax slab, GST and corporate tax are to his department. This time, Srivastava, who has worked in the PMO, is expected to make the TDS system simple and logical.

Wumlunmang Wualnam (Expenditure Secretary)

Expenditure Secretary Wumlunmaung Wualnam is known as the ‘Guardian of the Treasury’. Along with controlling government expenditure, subsidies and schemes, his main responsibility is to keep the fiscal deficit under control.

M. Nagaraju (Financial Services Secretary)

Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju oversees the country’s banking and insurance sector. The responsibility of public sector banks, pension systems, financial inclusion and social security schemes rests on their shoulders.

Arunish Chawla (DIPAM Secretary)

At the same time, DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla looks after the work of meeting the targets of disinvestment and privatization. Their main objective is to raise non-tax revenue by selling stake in government companies.

K Moses Chalai (Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises)

Planning capital expenditure of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and monetization of their assets. To ensure that budget allocations are utilized effectively.

V Ananth Nageswaran (Chief Economic Advisor)

Dr. Nageswaran is the main person behind the Economic Survey, which is released just before the Budget. The direction and impact of Budget 2026 will depend to a great extent on the collective strategy and experience of these senior officials.

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