'Halwa' ceremony held, Budget papers get into printing mode

The government on Saturday started the process of printing of the Budget 2019-20 documents following the customary 'halwa' ceremony in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated.

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur and senior ministry officials including Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Financial Services Secretary Rajeev Kumar, Expenditure Secretary G.C. Murmu, and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey also participated in the ceremony in the North Block, a Finance Ministry tweet said.

Sitharaman will present the first full Budget of the Narendra Modi government, after its return to power, in the Lok Sabha on July 5.

Following presentation/laying of the Budget, both houses will be adjourned for the day.

The Indian economy is currently passing through a slowdown period and is seeking relief from the Finance Ministry to revive.

The interim Budget for the current fiscal was presented by then Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in February, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

After the Narendra Modi government retained power and was sworn-in, the Union Cabinet, in its first meeting, had approved summoning of the 17th Lok Sabha on June 17, and subject to the exigencies of government business, the session will conclude on July 26. IANS