Budget 2024: Meet Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, the bridge between Fin Min and regulators

Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth

Amid mounting concerns over the economic ramifications of the second wave of the pandemic, Ajay Seth, a 1987 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Karnataka cadre, assumed charge as Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance in April 2021.

Seth will play a key role in shaping the interim Budget, which will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

The Economic Affairs Secretary leads the charge of a department that looks into a variety of policy functions, including the Budget and financial markets. Given that the Budget division falls under Seth's leadership, he is a key point person for supervising the finalisation of the annual financial statement.

As the head of the Department of Economic Affairs, Seth also plays a crucial role in the country’s monetary and market-related policies functioning as the bridge between the central government and regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The soft-spoken Seth held the additional responsibility of co-chairing the G20 central bank and finance minister’s meetings throughout 2023 during India's presidency. As the co-chair, he played a key role in deliberating and forging consensus on important issues such as infrastructure development, sustainable finance, international taxation, among others.

In his previous stint at the Finance Ministry, Seth served as Deputy Secretary and Director in the Department of Expenditure and Department of Economic Affairs between 2000 and 2004. He is a mechanical engineer and a management post-graduate.