Budget preparation kicked in at the North Block with sweets instead of ‘halwa’

NEW DELHI: The Union finance ministry on Thursday commenced the final stage of Budget-making process for 2021-22 with distribution of sweets instead of customary ‘halwa’ ceremony following guidelines for Covid-appropriate behaviour, according to an official statement.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on February 1 in a paperless form and a “Union Budget Mobile App” has been launched for hassle-free access to Budget documents by both Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public, it said.

“To mark the final stage of the Union Budget making process, sweets were provided to the core staff due to undergo ‘lock-in’ at their workplaces, instead of a customary Halwa ceremony every year in view of the prevailing pandemic situation and the need to observe health safety protocols,” the finance ministry said.

A customary halwa ceremony is performed every year before the ‘lock-in’ of the officials involved in making the Budget preparation begins, which aims to maintain secrecy of the Budget.

Budget Press, situated inside the North Block, houses all officials during the entire period till the Budget is presented in the Parliament. These officers and staff come in contact with their family members and friends only after the Budget is presented by the Union finance minister in the Parliament.

In a historic move, the Union Budget for 2021-22 was delivered in paperless form for the first time and the same will continue even this year, the ministry said. A ‘Union Budget Mobile App’ was also launched for hassle-free access of Budget documents by MPs and the general public.

“The Union Budget 2022-23 would also be available on the Mobile App after the process of Budget presentation has been completed on 1st February 2022 in the Parliament,” it said.

The mobile App allows complete access to 14 Union Budget documents, including the Budget Speech, Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill. 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). The budget documents will also be available for download by the general public on Union Budget Web Portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in).