NATIONAL : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday participated in a traditional ‘halwa’ ceremony, marking the final stage for preparation of the Interim Budget 2024 to be unveiled on February 1 in the Lok Sabha.

The ceremony is an annual ritual in which the traditional dessert ‘halwa’ is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the Budget.

A customary Halwa ceremony is performed every year before the “lock-in” process of Budget preparation begins, an official statement said.

Like the previous three full Union Budgets, the Interim Union Budget 2024 will also be delivered in paperless form. The Interim Union Budget 2024 is to be presented on 1st February 2024.

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 be 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).

As part of the ceremony, the Union Finance Minister also took a round of the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations besides extending her best wishes to the officials concerned