The finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday kicked off printing of the Union Budget 2020-21 document with the customary ‘halwa ceremony’.

As a part of the ceremony, the sweet dish is prepared in a huge kadhai or a vessel and served to the entire staff at the finance ministry, North Block, ahead of the Budget every year.

Besides Sitharaman, the ceremony saw the presence of minister of state for finance Anurag Thakur, finance secretary Rajeev Kumar, economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty, revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, expenditure secretary T.V. Somanathan, along with other senior finance ministry officers.

As the printing of the budget document commences, there is a ‘lock-in’ for some officials directly involved in the budget-making process. Such officials are cut off from their family and are not allowed to get in touch with them via phone calls or emails. All forms of communication resume only after the Budget is presented by the finance minister in Parliament.