Budget 2023: Pre-Budget Halwa Ceremony tomorrow after a gap of years due to Covid

New Delhi:

A customary halwa ceremony will be held on Thursday ahead of the “lock-in” process of officials involved in budget preparation in the presence of Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The ceremony marks the final phase of the preparation of the Union Budget. The Finance Minister begins the ceremony by stirring the halwa in a cauldron and then serves it to colleagues at the ministry’s headquarters in the national capital.

To maintain the secrecy of the budget, there is a “lock-in” of the officials involved in making the budget. These officers and employees come out of North Block only after the Union Finance Minister presents the budget. The budget document is tabled in the lower house of parliament on 1 February.

The Halwa ceremony takes place at the Union Finance Ministry Headquarters, North Block in the national capital. The Finance Minister, Minister of State and other top officials working with the Ministry of Finance are usually present during the ceremony.

Last year, for the first time, the customary ceremony was skipped in view of the health and safety concerns of the people and instead sweets were provided to the core staff as they were “locked-in” at their workplaces.

The Union Finance Ministry prepares the budget in consultation with the NITI Aayog and the concerned ministries.

A “Union Budget Mobile App” was also launched last year for hassle-free access to budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and general public after the completion of the budget presentation process in Parliament.

This year’s budget presentation assumes significance as it is the last full budget of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government before the next parliamentary elections due in April-May 2024.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)