Ahead of Union Budget 2024, the halwa ceremony, which observes the final stage of the budget preparation process, was conducted in a north block on Tuesday.
The ceremony was held in the presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary, and secretaries.
In addition, the officers & staff who were involved in compilation and preparation of the budget also graced the occasion.
What Is Halwa Ceremony?
The Halwa ceremony is an annual custom, which is held every year before starting the ‘lock-in’ process of budget preparation.
In this ceremony, an Indian sweet dish called Halwa is prepared in a huge ‘kadhai’ at North block.
The finance minister traditionally whisks the kadhai and distributes halwa to everybody who participated in budget-making process.
This ceremony is technically a way to recognize and acknowledge the hard work done by all financial ministry officials.
Moreover, the halwa also announces the printing of budget document before its presentation in the parliament.
Why Is It Significant?
This event is important and significant for many reasons, as it observes the initiation of lockdown at finance ministry.
Which signifies, that no official is supposed to leave the ministry premises. The ones involved in budget document can only leave after the unveiling of financial document in the parliament.
Meanwhile, the budget session will start on July 22, 2024, at the parliament. As per the schedule, it will conclude on August 12.
In this coming budget presentation, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will beat the record of former erstwhile PM Morarji Desai, who unveiled five union budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964 as finance minister. Nirmala’s coming budget will be sixth.
