The Halwa Ceremony marks the beginning of the Union Budget preparation.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for 2024-25 on July 23. The Budget session will begin on July 22, a day earlier, and is scheduled to end on August 12. Preceding the event, the finance minister and other officials will host and attend the traditional "Halwa Ceremony".
What is the Halwa Ceremony?
The Halwa Ceremony marks the beginning of the Union Budget preparation. It is a customary event held about a week before the budget presentation at the Ministry of Finance's basement in North Block, New Delhi.
The ceremony involves the preparation and distribution of halwa, a traditional Indian sweet, to the officials and staff involved in the budget-making process. This symbolises the completion of the budget documents and the confidentiality that follows.
During the ceremony, a large batch of halwa is prepared in the Ministry of Finance kitchen.
The Finance Minister usually initiates the ceremony by stirring the halwa in a large kadhai (cauldron) and then serving it to the ministry staff.
Significance of the Halwa Ceremony
The process of preparing the Union Budget is highly confidential due to its significant impact on the economy, markets and the public. There are several restrictions in place to maintain the confidentiality of the budget preparation process.
The finance minister and high-ranking officials involved in the process are required to keep the details of the budget secret until it is officially presented. After the ceremony, officials who are directly involved in the budget preparation process are required to stay within the North Block premises and are cut off from any external communication to maintain the secrecy of the budget details until it is presented in the Parliament. They are also prohibited from using mobile phones. This is known as the ‘lock-in' period.
The budget is only printed after receiving approval from the Prime Minister. Various entities, including ministries, states, union territories, defence forces and other departments, are tasked with preparing estimates. The Intelligence Bureau chief conducts surprise visits to the printing press area in the basement of North Block to ensure the secrecy of the process.