New Delhi (NVI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today kicked off the process of printing the Union General Budget 2020-21 by hosting the customary ‘Halwa’ ceremony here.
The ‘Halwa’ ceremony is a pre-Budget event that formally flags off printing of different documents associated with the Budget after a marathon exercise to finalise it.
The significance of this ceremony is that after this process, all the officials involved in the Budget- making and printing process, are locked down in the ministry and remain cut off from their families till the presentation of the Budget by the Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha.
This is to maintain utmost secrecy regarding the contents of the Budget.
The Finance Minister will present the Union Budget 2020-21 on February 1 at 11 am.
