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

A customary Halwa ceremony is performed every year before the “lock-in” process of Budget preparation begins. To prevent any leak of the Budget before it is presented on 1st February 2024, officials involved are kept in isolation after the ceremony.

As part of the ceremony, the Union Finance Minister stirred the kadhai and served the sweet delicacy to the officials. Later, Sitharaman also took a round of the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations besides extending her best wishes to the officials concerned.

Like the previous three full Union Budgets, Interim Union Budget 2024 will also be delivered in paperless form, the Ministry said.

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 2024 documents will be available on the Mobile App after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament on 1st February 2024.