The traditional halwa ceremony which indicates the beginning of printing documents for the Union Budget 2021 will be hosted by the Finance Ministry on 23rd January 2021 at 3:30 prior to the presentation of the budget on 1st February.
The event will brace the attendance of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, Secretaries of Finance Ministry, and some other officials.
Sources said that the halwa ceremony is held annually by the government to spur the budget session, after which those officials involved in the budget-making process move to the basement of the North Block for a period of 10 days.
One of the officials in the ministry told ANI, “They will only emerge once the Finance Minister presents the Budget in Parliament. This is done to prevent any leaks before the annual Budget is presented.”
On 19th January 2021, Lok Sabha Om Birla said that the first part of the Budget session will commence on 29th January and continue until 15th February; and the second part of the session will be held from 8th March to 8th April.
Since 2020-2021 has been a unique period inflicted with COVID-19, the Budget will be paperless. The economic survey will also not be printed which is going to be discussed in the Parliament on 29th January.
Members of Parliament have also requested to undergo an RT-PCR against COVID-19 before the session.
The halwa making ceremony not only begins the Budget session but also applauds the officials putting in hours of effort and hard work while making the union budget of the year.
As part of pre-Budget deliberations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 18th January 2021 held a meeting with state finance ministers who proposed steps to revive growth and boost revenue collection against the scene of the COVID-19 crisis. The Finance Ministry in a statement said the meeting was held through video conference and was attended by chief ministers, deputy chief ministers, finance ministers, ministers and senior officers from the states and Union Territories and the Union Government.
