New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold the pre-budget annual tradition or the customary Halwa ceremony on Friday. This ceremony is held every year right before the ‘lock-in’ process of officials of the Union Budget is done.
Ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2025-26 on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents halwa marking the final stage of the budget preparation. It will be organized in the North Block at 5.00 pm on Friday. After this customary tradition, the bureaucrats and officials in charge of drafting the Union Budget enter a ‘lock-in’ phase.
In the ‘lock-in’ phase the officials are bound to stay within the North Block premises. They are not allowed to use their mobile phones in order to protect the secrecy of the Union Budget. They are barred from external communication.
After the halwa ceremony, the Union Budget documents are sent for printing. The Intelligence Bureau conducts surprise visits to the printing press in the Ministry’s basement to check any act of mischief.
In the halwa ceremony, the finance minister distributes halwa to the officials and others involved in the Budget making. On many occasions, she was seen stirring the halwa while it was being prepared.
The working class is hoping for some taxation benefits and to get some cuts in the tax rates in the Union Budget 2025-26.
