Presentation of the Union Budget is one of the most awaited national events, with people cutting across the class divide eager to know what the Finance Minister has to offer them. But the success or otherwise of a budget depends as much on a Finance Minister\u2019s ability to balance the needs of the country with the available resources as on the drafting skills of his or her team. So, every finance minister tries to put together the best possible and most experienced team for the purpose.<\/p>\n
It has been no different with Nirmala Sitharaman, the first woman finance minister of the country who presented the national budget in the parliament yesterday. While the Prime Minister praised the budget, saying it meant \u201cmore infrastructure, more investment, more growth and more jobs\u201d, it was also hailed by the corporate sector.<\/p>\n
A matter of pride for all Odias in all this is that Sitharaman\u2019s core team, often referred to as the A-team, had some senior officers from Odisha. Although like all budgets this one was also drafted following a consultative process involving the Finance Ministry, government planning body, NITI Aayog and several spending ministries, it was the dedication and hard work of the A-team that contributed heavily to its success.<\/p>\n
An IAS officer of Odisha cadre and an Odia officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre were part of the Finance Minister\u2019s team. Her A team, according to sources, comprised TV Somanatham, Tarun Bajaj, Debashish Panda, Ajay Seth and Tuhin Kanta Pandey. They worked out the finer details such as the fiscal allocation to be made to different sectors.<\/p>\n
Pandey, a 1987-batch IAS officer from Odisha, is currently serving as secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). He has been spearheading the government\u2019s divestment project. The union government, which has already transferred Air India to Tata group, is all set to privatize five or six companies, including Bharat Petroleum, Shipping Corporation of India and Pawn Hans in the current financial year.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Odisha-born Debashish Panda had played a key role in the revival of public sector offices, as Secretary, Department of Financial Services. Banks have performed well despite the pandemic thanks to this 1987-batch IAS officer. Panda\u2019s term drew to an end on January 31, but his contribution to shaping the economy will always be remembered.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Panda\u2019s successor is Rajesh Verma, another IAS officer from the Odisha cadre. It is double duty for Verma now because he continues as Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) Secretary.<\/p>\n
Odisha-born Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer JB Mohapatra, who is serving as chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), is also said to have played an important role in the making of the budget.<\/p>\n
As it is, Odisha-born bureaucrats have been playing an important role in shaping the country’s economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One of the names that comes to mind immediately is RBI governor Shaktikanta Das. A Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, Das was handed this important responsibility at a critical juncture when the economy was passing through a difficult phase. But he has proved himself equal to the task and earned praise even from opposition leaders. Like Das, some other Odia officers have also made the state proud, but that\u2019s a story for another day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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