New Delhi, Jan 22 (KNN) To mark the ceremonial beginning of printing of Budget 2019 documents, the Ministry of Finance has kicked off the process with a customary 'halwa ceremony'.

The MoS (Finance), Shiv Pratap Shukla and Pon Radhakrishnan, jointly launched the halwa ceremony on January 21, 2019.

"Halwa Ceremony was held today in North Block, New Delhi to mark the ceremonial beginning of printing of #Budget2019 documents. Both the MoS (Finance) Shiv Pratap Shukla and Pon Radhakrishnan jointly launched the ceremony and shared the Halwa with the Ministry officials”, the finance ministry said in a tweet. 

The NDA government on February 1, would unveil the interim Budget for 2019-20 as the general elections are due in the next couple of months. The final Budget for the next fiscal would be presented by the new government. 

The halwa ceremony is usually launched by the finance minister. However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley this year missed the ceremony due to his visit to the US for a medical check-up.

The significance of the sweet dish is that after it is served, a large number of officials and support staff, who are directly associated with the budget making and printing process, are required to stay in the ministry and remain cut off from their families till the presentation of the Budget in the Lok Sabha. 

In the run up to the Budget, Finance Ministry has started a series on Twitter providing definitions of various terms used in the budget like Fiscal Deficit, Primary Deficit seeking to educate general public about the budgetary process.