The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) is an institution, specifically a division under the Union Government's Ministry of Finance. It serves as the nodal agency responsible for formulating and monitoring India's economic policies and programmes, covering both domestic and international aspects of economic management.
The DEA's role became central to India's economic structure, particularly after the crisis in July 1991, when crippling foreign debt forced the country to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The DEA was a key base of operations for the subsequent economic overhaul, which shifted the country away from a planned socialist economy toward liberalization and market-oriented reforms.
The core mechanism of the DEA involves the preparation and presentation of the Union Budget to the Parliament each year. It formulates and monitors macroeconomic policies, including those related to fiscal policy, public finance, inflation, and public debt management. Its Economic Division produces the Annual Economic Survey. The DEA also manages external resources, such as multilateral and bilateral Official Development Assistance and foreign investments. It connects to the Constitution by being involved in laying Audit Reports before Parliament under Article 151.
The DEA is closely connected to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which is an autonomous body under its purview, and it manages the cadre of the Indian Economic Service (IES) officers. A significant recent change is the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which was housed in the DEA, by the then-Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the 2017-2018 budget speech. The DEA continues to guide India's economic management, including its involvement with the Sixteenth Finance Commission.