The Union Budget (2021-22) has reached the final stage of the process. Yesterday, Halwa Ceremony was celebrated which kick-starts the drafting of budget. The ceremony was held in the presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. On the ceremony, the Finance Minister launched the ‘Union Budget Mobile App’. With this the process of maiden paperless budget has started. For the first time since independence, budget will not be printed on papers. Through the ‘Union Budget Mobile App’, the government and the general public will be able to get documents related to the budget.
Due to COVID-19 this year, there will be no printing on budget paper. Apart from this, Economic Survey will also not be printed on papers. The Economic Survey will be laid on the Table of Parliament on 29 January. This year both these documents will be given in electronic form to the public.
Features of Union Budget Mobile App
- The mobile app contains all 14 budget documents. It will contain information on Annual Financial Statement, Demand for Grants, Finance Bill etc.
- This app has features like downloading, printing, search, zoom in and out, external link etc. Its interface is very user friendly. This app is available in English and Hindi language. As well as it will be available on both Android and iOS platforms.
- This mobile app can also be downloaded from the Union Budget web portal www.indiabudget.gov.in.
- After the completion of the budget speech by the Finance Minister in Parliament, the budget documents will be available on this app.
Budget session
Significantly, the budget session of Parliament will start from January 29. During the session, the general budget of the financial year 2021-22 will be presented in Parliament on 1 February. According to the statement of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the budget session will be completed in two parts will run till 8 April. The first phase of the budget session will continue from 29 January to 15 February while the second phase will start from March 8 and ends on April 8.