Budget process kicks off with Jaitley's 'halwa ceremony'

January 19, 2017 17:09

The process of printing documents for the 2017-18 budget began on Thursday with 'halwa ceremony' in presence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Jaitley participated in the ritual along with other finance ministry officials at the North Block in New Delhi.

More than 100 finance ministry officials will stay in Budget Printing Press till Jaitley presents his budget speech.

As a part of the ritual, which has continued for long, 'halwa' was prepared in a big 'kadhai' and served to the entire staff in the ministry.

This year's Budget, which will be the third full-fledged budget of the present National Democratic Alliance government, is scheduled to be unveiled in Parliament on February 1.

The 'lock-in' of the documents is followed by the 'halwa ceremony', which is observed to maintain the secrecy of the budget preparation process.

Photograph: ANI

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