The Halwa ceremony, marking the commencement of Budget printing process for Union General Budget 2020-21, was held here in North Block today morning in the presence of the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.

Union General Budget 2020-21 is to be presented on 1st February, 2020. To maintain the secrecy of Budget, there is a “lock-in” of the officials involved in making the Budget. Budget Press, situated inside North Block, houses all officials in the period leading up to the presentation of the Union Budget. These officers and staff will come in contact with their near and dear ones only after the Budget is presented by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament.

At the Halwa Ceremony, Smt. Sitharaman was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Shri Anurag Singh Thakur; Shri Rajeev Kumar, Finance Secretary; Shri Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, DEA; Dr A.B. Pandey, Revenue Secretary; Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, DIPAM; Shri T.V. Somanathan, Secretary, Expenditure among other officers of the Ministry of Finance.

Shri P.C. Mody, Chairman, CBDT; Shri John Joseph, Chairman, CBIC; Members of CBDT & CBIC; Shri Rajat Mishra, Joint Secretary (Budget), besides others officers and staff of the Ministry of Finance, involved in the Budget preparation and printing process were also present on the occasion. Later, the Finance Minister took a round of the Press and acquainted herself about the Budget printing process.

Budget confidentiality ensured by official lock in during printing; halwa ceremony marks commencement of the process. The Budget printing commenced with the Halwa ceremony at the Budget Press, activating operational protocols and a strict official lock-in requiring officials involved in preparation and printing to remain on-site to maintain confidentiality until the Budget is presented in Parliament.