The traditional 'Halwa ceremony' was held in the Finance Ministry on Monday to mark the beginning of printing of documents relating to this year's interim budget.
The ceremony was initiated by Ministers of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla and Pon Radhakrishnan in the absence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and was attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Subash Chandra Garg and other officials.
Finance ministry officials will now spend the next 11 days in the Budget Press office, until the Budget is presented in Parliament on February 1.
The Budget Session of the Parliament will be held from January 31 to February 13, which was decided in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), sources further informed.
Jaitley will present the Interim Budget on February 1 in Parliament.