Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, set to make history with her eighth consecutive Union Budget, has worked with key officials, including Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, to prepare a budget of over Rs 50 lakh crore for FY26.
The Budget will have to address several challenges, including decelerating economic growth, falling value of Rupee against the U.S. dollar and moderation in consumption demand.
The economic growth is estimated to slow to a 4-year low of 6.4% in FY25. This is the lowest growth since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic which hit the world in 2019.
Ms. Sitharaman, who had steered the Indian economy through many difficult phases, including once-in-a-century pandemic, is again confronted with economic deceleration, moderation in consumption, stagnant private investment, and an uncertain geopolitical situation.
On account of various factors, the rupee plunged to an all-time low of 86.7 per U.S. dollar earlier this month.
The team, assisting the Finance Minister to frame Budget proposals for 2025-26, includes Revenue Secretary Pandey, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, Expenditure Secretary Manoj Govil, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Arunish Chawla, Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju, and Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran.
– PTI
