The Finance Minister will announce the Union Budget 2025-26 in front of the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2025.
What is the halwa ceremony?
The halwa ceremony is a traditional ceremony in which every year ahead of the budget announcement, “halwa”, which is a traditional Indian dessert, is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in preparing the budget.
High-ranking officials, along with the Union Finance Minister, gather in the basement of North Block, which houses the ministry in Delhi.
Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the ceremony and also took a round of the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations besides extending her best wishes to the officials concerned, reported the news agency PTI on Friday.
Who attended the halwa ceremony?
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and other senior officials, which include Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth were among others who attended the ceremony, according to the agency report.
This ceremony is the “send-off” for the finance ministry officials and staff who are making the budget. The people enter a lock-in period during which they stay in the basement of North Block, out of reach from the outside world, to maintain the secrecy of the final budget document.
They will be allowed to exit after Nirmala Sitharaman finishes her Budget speech at the Lok Sabha on February 1st. Sitharaman will present the budget speech, marking her eight consecutive budget speech next week.
Till date, even though a lot of things have changed in the budget, like merging the Rail Budget with the main Budget, and making the entire documents digital, the one long-standing tradition still remains is the “halwa ceremony” as a customary for every Union Budget.
