Budget 2022: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is at the Parliament, as she gears up to present her fourth straight Union Budget at 11 am on Tuesday. She will be presenting the financial statements and tax proposals for the fiscal year 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023).
Setting the tone for the Union Budget 2022-23, the Economic Survey 2021-22 was tabled in the Parliament on Monday. It projected the economy to grow at 8.0-8.5 per cent in 2022-23, thereby moderating the growth forecast from 9.2 per cent expansion for 2021-22 outlined by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in its first advance estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
1. TV Somanathan, The Finance Secretary, who has served at the PMO and was tasked with increasing fund allocated to the healthcare sector and finding additional funds for the large-scale vaccination process.
The upcoming budget will definitively be the biggest on record, especially in terms of capital expenditure, and it will be Somanathan’s job to figure out where will the money be spent.
2. The Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth will be tasked with the tough job of reviving private capital expenditure in the economy in order to maintain the growth in India’s GDP. According to reports, it is likely that Seth will draft Sitharaman’s Budget speech.
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3. After the success of privatising Air India, Tuhin Pandey, the Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, is a 1987-batch officer from the Punjab cadre and after having kicked off the Centre’s ambitious privatisation plan Pandey will still have the responsibility of carrying out any further deals and ensuring their fruition.
4. Debashish Panda, a 1987 batch IAS officer has been instrumental in laying the foundation for next-generation reforms in public sector financial institutions. With 17 more strategic sales lined up and asset monetization pipeline ready, he has an action packed year ahead.
5. Former economic affairs secretary and now the revenue secretary, Tarun Bajaj has over three decades of experience and has served in several crucial positions including the post of economic affairs secretary. He also has worked at the PMO and is known for having good communication with the industry.
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Future Ready Budget goes paperless! No paper but also no halwa this year