Niramala kicks off printing of budget with halwa ceremony

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Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman kicked off the final process for printing the Union Budget 2021-22 with the traditional halwa-making ceremony on Saturday evening  at the finance ministry premises in North Block. The budget will be presented in Parliament on February 1.</p>
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Delhi: 'Halwa Ceremony' being held at Finance Ministry to mark the beginning of printing of documents relating to Union Budget 2021-22.<br />
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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur are present. <a href="https://t.co/Fj7azBd87Z">pic.twitter.com/Fj7azBd87Z</a></p>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1352931207575597057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, Secretaries of Finance Ministry, and other officials were present on the occasion.</p>
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The halwa-making ceremony is held every year ahead of the budget as it is considered auspicious. After the ceremony officials closely involved in the budget-making exercise are shifted to the basement of North Block for 10 days to ensure absolute secrecy until the Finance Minister announces her proposals in Parliament on Feb 1. </p>
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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had said on Tuesday that the first part of the Budget Session will start on January 29 and continue till February 15, and the second part of the session will extend for a month from March 8 to April 8.</p>