Budget 2022: Sitharaman to present second paperless budget, no pudding ceremony
Highlight
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget for 2022-23 in paperless form for the second time.
- Keeping health and safety in mind, ‘Halwa Ceremony’ will not happen for the first time
- Budget 2022-23 will also be available on ‘Union Budget Mobile App’
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the customary ‘Halwa Ceremony’ will not take place for the first time keeping in mind the health and safety concerns of the people and will instead have sweets before the Budget Session of Parliament begins on February 1. Reasons to be provided to key employees to undergo “lock-in” at their workplaces.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2022-23 in paperless form for the second time on February 1. Earlier, the Union Budget for 2021-22 was given in a paperless form for the first time. It is noteworthy that in the first week of January, more than 400 Parliament staff were tested COVID-19 positive. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu reviewed the situation and directed that necessary measures be taken to prevent the spread of the virus among the officers and staff of the Secretariat.
Meanwhile, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday. The VP present in Hyderabad has asked those who came in contact with him to isolate themselves and get tested.
“To mark the final stage of the Union Budget making process, sweets were provided to the core employees due to “lock-in” at their workplaces, instead of a customary halwa ceremony every year in view of the prevailing pandemic situation and requirement Health safety protocols to be followed,” the Finance Ministry said in an official statement.
Early last year, a “Union Budget Mobile App” was also launched for hassle-free access to budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and general public. The Union Budget 2022-23 will also be available on the mobile app after the completion of the budget presentation process in the Parliament on February 1, 2022.
The mobile app allows full access to 14 Union Budget documents including Budget Speech, Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demands for Grants (DG), Finance Bills etc as prescribed by the Constitution. The mobile app is bilingual (English and Hindi) and is available on both Android and iOS platforms.
The app can also be downloaded from the Union Budget web portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in) Budget documents will also be available for download by the general public on the Union Budget web portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in), the ministry statement said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla convened an all-party meeting on 30 January
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has called an all-party meeting on January 30 before the budget session of Parliament begins. In this customary meeting, floor leaders of various political parties will be present to discuss the smooth conduct of the Parliament session under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
At 3:00 PM on January 30, the government has called an all-party meeting with the leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to discuss how to work as well as take into account the opposition’s demand for discussion.
The Chairman of Rajya Sabha has called a meeting of the leaders of Rajya Sabha at five o’clock in the evening. The meeting will be held virtually and will be chaired by M Venkaiah Naidu. The Budget Session of Parliament will begin on January 31 at 11:00 AM, with the President of India addressing both the Houses in a joint session, after which the Economic Survey will be presented.
(with ANI inputs)
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