Thiruvananthapuram: Today (February 1, 2024), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Interim Budget ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. This marked her sixth consecutive budget presentation, equaling the record set by former Finance Minister Morarji Desai. Nirmala Sitharaman also set a new record by replacing the traditional briefcase with a ‘Made-in-India’ tablet in this digital era. In 2021, Sitharaman introduced the trend of presenting the budget in a paperless format. However, amidst several evolutions in the budget presentation process, certain traditions remain unchanged. One of these is the ‘Halwa ceremony’ in connection with the budget presentation.
Last week, on January 24th, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took part in the traditional Halwa preparation ceremony, a customary practice ahead of the annual budget presentation. The Halwa ceremony functions as a formal farewell and information-sharing event for officials and staff from the Ministry who are engaged in preparing the Union government’s annual financial budget.
The ‘Halwa ceremony’ is an annual ritual observed a few days before the Union Budget presentation at the Parliament. It involves the preparation and serving of “halwa” to officials and staff involved in the budget’s preparation. It is also considered a sign of appreciation for all the staff dedicated to the budget preparation process.
The budget-making process is extensive, requiring several months of planning, consulting, and compiling to create the final draft of the Budget document. The process commences almost six months before the financial statement is presented in Parliament, initiating deliberations in August-September of the previous year. This is held as a prelude to the Budget presentation and signals the beginning of the Budget document printing process.
Following the Halwa ceremony event, participants enter a designated ‘lock-in’ period, quarantining themselves within the Ministry premises and disconnecting from their families to maintain confidentiality until the document is tabled in the Lok Sabha. These stringent measures trace back to a leak that occurred in 1950.
In 1950, the Union Budget was leaked during Finance Minister John Mathai’s tenure. Following this incident, several stringent security measures were implemented, including quarantine measures for the Finance Minister, other high-ranking officials involved in the budgeting process, and all other staff members connected to budget preparation.
This year, top officials, including Finance Secretary TV Somanathan, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, Secretary of Dipam Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, CBIC Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, CBDT Chairman Nitin Kumar Gupta, and other staff involved in the budget preparation, attended the ceremony on January 24th along with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
#WATCH | Delhi | The Halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of the Budget preparation process for Interim Union Budget 2024, was held in North Block, today, in the presence of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance… pic.twitter.com/wjoyI5QqQ3
— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2024
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