The Union Budget 2022-23 is to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2022, in the paperless form once again. This will be her fourth Budget.
The Union Budget of 2021-22 was delivered in paperless form for the first time. A ‘Union Budget Mobile App’ was also launched for hassle-free access of Budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public.
Amid fears of the virulent Omicron variant, the finance ministry has this time around dispensed with the traditional pre-Budget ‘Halwa ceremony’ and instead distributed sweets to core staff due for a ‘lock-in’ at their workplace.
To mark the final stage of the Union Budget making process, sweets were provided to the core staff due to undergo lock-in at their workplaces, instead of a customary Halwa ceremony every year in view of the prevailing pandemic situation and the need to observe health safety protocols,” it added.
There used to be photos where the FM would be cooking the traditional Halwa before the officials are locked in a room before the Budget presentation.
Right now only sweets were distributed in a limited fashion and no cooking of the Halwa by the FM.
