New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (January 20) took part in 'Halwa Ceremony' being held at Ministry of Finance, North Block, to mark the beginning of printing of documents relating to Union Budget 2020-21.


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Union Budget 2020-21 is to be presented on 1st February 2020. To maintain the secrecy of Budget, there is a “lock-in” of the officials involved in making the Budget. 


Budget Press, situated inside North Block, houses all officials in the period leading up to the presentation of the Union Budget. These officers and staff will come in contact with their near and dear ones only after the Budget is presented by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament.


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At the Halwa ceremony, FM Sitharaman was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur; Finance Secretary Rajeev Kumar; Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, DEA; Revenue Secretary Dr AB Pandey; Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, DIPAM; TV Somanathan, Secretary, Expenditure among other Ministry of Finance officers.


PC Mody, Chairman, CBDT; John Joseph, Chairman, CBIC; members of CBDT & CBIC; Rajat Mishra, Joint Secretary (Budget), besides others officers and staff of the Ministry of Finance, involved in the Budget preparation and printing process were also present on the occasion. 


The Finance Minister also took a round of the press and acquainted herself with the Budget printing process.