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Ahead of the presentation of Union Budget 2025, the annual tradition of the Halwa ceremony is set to take place on Friday, January 24
Nirmala Sitharaman
Ahead of the presentation of Union Budget 2025, the annual tradition of the Halwa ceremony is set to take place on Friday, January 24. The Finance Ministry carries out the customary practice every year right before the lock-in process begins for the budget preparation. The Halwa ceremony for this year’s budget presentation will be held at 5 PM in the North Block in presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary, other secretaries, officers and staff in attendance.
The Union Budget for 2025-2026 will be tabled on February 1, marking Sitharaman’s eighth consecutive presentation. While anticipation remains high for the possible announcements, the pre-budget tradition of preparing the halwa also garners attention. But what is this Halwa ceremony all about? Scroll on to learn more.
What Is The Halwa Ceremony?
The Halwa ceremony is the process of preparing a sweet dish in a large wok (kadhai) at the North Block. The Union Minister helms the cooking process by ceremoniously stirring the kadhai and then serving the dish to everyone involved in the budget-making process. It is usually done five days before the budget is presented in Parliament for a relevant financial year.
Significance Of Halwa Ceremony
The making of the sweet dish is not just a festive event but majorly celebrates the hard work that goes in before the final stage of the budget preparation. Consequently, all the members who have been involved in the drafting of the budget are acknowledged for their contribution to the process. It also symbolises the start of the lock-in period which is done to maintain the confidentiality and security of the Union Budget.
Speaking of the lock-in period, all the staff members of the finance ministry enter a stage where they are quarantined within the ministry, especially in the North Block without any access to mobile phones or other communication devices. Several other measures are taken to prevent any sort of budget leak. Communication with the outside world is restricted and officials are cut off from outside contact.
The lock-in period continues till the budget documents receive approval from the Prime Minister and are ready for printing, which is also done in the basement of the North Block, a highly secured area in presence of the core team. During this while, the Intelligence Bureau conducts surprise inspections of the printing press to safeguard the process.
