Budget 2024: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday participated in the pre-budget 'halwa' ceremony, marking the final stage of the Budget preparation process for Interim Union Budget 2024.
At the halwa ceremony, the Finance Minister was also accompanied by senior officials including Finance Secretary & Secretary, Expenditure, T.V. Somanathan, Secretary, Economic Affairs, Ajay Seth, Secretary, DIPAM Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Revenue, Sanjay Malhotra, Chairman, Central Board for Direct Taxes (CBDT), Nitin Gupta, and Chairman, Central Board for Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Sanjay Kumar Agarwal.
A customary Halwa ceremony is performed every year before the "lock-in" process of Budget preparation begins.
Like the previous three full Union Budgets, the Interim Union Budget 2024 will also be delivered in paperless form. It is to be presented on February 1, the Finance Ministry said.
All the Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants, Finance Bill etc. as prescribed by the Constitution, will be available on the “Union Budget Mobile App” for easy access of Budget documents by MPs and the general public, according to a Finance Ministry statement.
The documents will be published both in English & Hindi and will be available on both Android and iOS platforms. The App can also be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal.
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 February 1.
