Team work

With Sumit Bose, now revenue secretary, and R S Gujral, now expenditure secretary, having swapped jobs, has P Chidambaram put in place his core team for the critical 2013-14 Budget? Most officials in the finance ministry say no, the expectation being that Gujral, who remains finance secretary by virtue of seniority, is still in exit mode. But an official close to the finance minister suggests that with Arvind Mayaram filling in the important post of economic affairs secretary, Chidambaram has in place the key bureaucrats he particularly wanted, so Gujral’s exit or continuance has become a minor issue.