New Delhi [India]Jan 26 (ANI): The customary ‘Halwa ceremony’ to mark the beginning of the compilation and printing of documents related to the Union Budget for 2023-24 was held at the Budget Press of the Ministry of Finance inside North Block on Thursday.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Ministers of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad and Pankaj Chowdhary were present along with other senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.
The ceremony marks the final phase of the compilation of the Union Budget. The Finance Minister begins the ceremony by stirring the halwa in a cauldron and then serves it to colleagues at the ministry’s headquarters in the national capital.
To maintain the secrecy of the budget, there is a ‘lock-in’ of the officials involved in making the budget. These officers and employees come out of North Block only after the Union Finance Minister presents the budget.
Last year, the traditional ceremony was not held for the first time due to the health and safety concerns of the people due to the Covid scare.
Like the last two Union Budgets, the Union Budget 2023-24 will also be presented in a paperless manner. The Union Budget 2023-24 is to be presented on February 1, 2023.
The budget documents will be available on the ‘Union Budget Mobile App’ on both Android and Apple OS platforms after the completion of the budget speech by the Finance Minister in Parliament on February 1, 2023.
The formal exercise of preparing the annual budget for the next financial year (2023-24) began on October 10.
With the next Lok Sabha elections due in April-May of 2024, Budget 2023 is likely to be the last full budget of the second term of the Modi government.
This report has been auto generated from ANI News Service. ThePrint is not responsible for its content.