Budget 2023: Final Stage of Union Budget 2023-24 Commenced with Halwa Ceremony:

Budget 2023: Final Stage of Union Budget 2023-24 Commenced with Halwa Ceremony The Halwa Ceremony, marking the final stage of the Budget preparation process for Union Budget 2023-24, was held in North Block, yesterday afternoon, in the presence of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Ministers of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad. Every year, a traditional Halwa ceremony is held before the "lock-in" process of Budget drafting begins. Union Budget 2023-24, like the previous two Union Budgets, will be delivered in paperless form. The Union Budget 2023-24 is scheduled to be presented on February 1, 2023. All 14 Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill, and so on, as prescribed by the Constitution, will be available on the "Union Budget Mobile App" for Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public to access easily using the most basic form of digital convenience. It will be available on both Android and iOS platforms and is multilingual (English and Hindi). The app is also available for download via 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 Finance Minister in Parliament on 1st February, 2023. 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; Dr Anantha V. Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor; Shri Nitin Gupta, Chairman, Central Board for Direct taxes (CBDT); Shri Vivek Johri, 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 Finance Minister also took a tour of the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations besides extending her best wishes to the officials concerned.