New Delhi, January 23: The customary Halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of the budget preparation process for the full Budget of 2025-26, is set to be held in North Block on Friday evening.
As is the tradition, the ceremony will be led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, with Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary, and secretaries, in attendance. Officers and staff involved in the budget preparation and compilation process will also be present on the occasion.
A customary Halwa ceremony is performed every year before the "lock-in" process of the budget preparation begins.
The Halwa Ceremony is a preparation of the Indian sweet dish in a large 'kadhai' at the North Block. The Finance Minister ceremoniously stirs the 'Kadhai' and generally serves the halwa to everyone involved in the Budget-making process.
This tradition is also a way to acknowledge the hard work of all the finance ministry officials. The halwa ceremony heralds the process of printing all the budget documents ahead of the presentation in Parliament.
The halwa ceremony is a significant event as it also marks the beginning of lockdown at the finance ministry. This means no official is allowed to leave the ministry compound. Everyone part of the Budget team is allowed to leave only after the financial document is presented in Parliament.
The printing of the Union Budget inside the basement located at the North Block has become a permanent feature since 1980. The budget session of parliament will begin on January 31 and, according to schedule, will end on April 4. The budget will be presented on February 1.
