The traditional ‘halwa’ ceremony, symbolizing the final stage of preparing Union Budget 2024-25, took place at North Block on Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, and senior officials attended the event. This annual ritual precedes the ‘lock-in’ phase for Budget preparation officials, with the Budget set for presentation on July 23.
All Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement, Demand for Grants, and Finance Bill, will be conveniently accessible through the bilingual ‘Union Budget Mobile App’ on both Android and iOS platforms. The Finance Ministry announced that the app can also be downloaded from the Union Budget web portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in).
Following the Budget speech by the Finance Minister in Parliament on July 23, these documents will be uploaded to the app. Finance Minister Sitharaman also visited the Budget press during the ceremony, where she reviewed preparations and extended her best wishes to the officials involved.