The Halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of the Budget preparation process for Interim Union Budget 2024, was held in North Block, today, in the presence of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad.

A customary Halwa ceremony is performed every year before the “lock-in” process of Budget preparation begins.

Like the previous three full Union Budgets, Interim Union Budget 2024 will also be delivered in paperless form. The Interim Union Budget 2024 is to be presented on 1^st February, 2024.

All the Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill etc. as prescribed by the Constitution, will available on the “Union Budget Mobile App” for hassle-free access of Budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public using the simplest form of digital convenience. It is bilingual (English & Hindi) and will be 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 be available on the Mobile App after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament on 1^st February, 2024.

At the Halwa Ceremony, the Union Finance Minister was also accompanied by Dr. T.V. Somanathan, Finance Secretary & Secretary Expenditure; Shri Ajay Seth, Secretary, Economic Affairs; Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, DIPAM; Shri Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary, Revenue; Shri Nitin Gupta, Chairman, Central Board for Direct taxes (CBDT); Shri Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman, Central Board for Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC); and Shri Ashish Vachhani, Additional Secretary (Budget), besides others officers and staff of the Ministry of Finance, involved in the Budget preparation and compilation process, were also present on the occasion.

As part of the ceremony, the Union Finance Minister also took a round of the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations besides extending her best wishes to the officials concerned.

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NB/VM/KMN