Budget 2023: FM Nirmala Sitharaman to Perform the Halwa Ceremony Today, Know Everything About the Rituals

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be present at the Halwa ceremony for the Union Budget 2023–24 today, January 26, the Finance Ministry tweeted on Wednesday. The ceremony signals the conclusion of the budget planning process. The Union Ministers of State for Finance, the Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance, top officials, and members of the Union Budget Press will all attend the ceremony in addition to the FM.

Every year in India, the traditional halwa ceremony precedes the budget presentation and signals the start of the printing of the official budget document. The celebration also honors the contributions of each employee who participated in the budget-making process.

According to tradition, the halwa is made in a large wok and presented to the finance ministry employees who have a direct connection to the budget.

In order to maintain confidentiality, after the meal is served, officials and other workers are required to remain in the basement of the finance ministry's north block until the Budget is not presented to Parliament. To maintain the confidentiality of budget information and to stop any leaks, the people, who are usually around 100 in number, are also separated from their families for a period of about 10 days. The north block can only be accessed by top officials.

The traditional pre-Budget ceremony was not held last year due to concerns over the Omicron variant. Instead, the ministry held a ceremony where sweets were distributed to core staff members who were scheduled for a "lock-in" at work.