Sitharaman's 9th Budget Team: Veterans & Fresh Faces Lead the Charge

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is preparing her 9th consecutive Union Budget with a mix of experienced officials and new appointees.
• The budget team includes key figures like CBDT chairman Ravi Agrawal, Dipam secretary Arunish Chawla, financial services secretary M Nagaraju, and chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran.
• For the first time in recent years, there might be no finance secretary, with Anuradha Thakur coordinating the budget exercise.
• New faces such as Vivek Chaturvedi (CBIC chairman) and Vyasan R (joint secretary, budget division) join experienced officials like Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava.
• The budget presentation date is likely to be decided today, with a proposal for February 1, and the Parliament session starting January 28.

Why It Matters: Nirmala Sitharaman's 9th Union Budget team combines experience with new talent for crucial financial planning.