Budget 2023: The Ministry of Finance announced that the traditional “halwa” ceremony will be held today, presided over by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. This age-old tradition, performed annually ahead of the budget, signifies the final phase of preparation for the coming fiscal year. The Union Budget 2023 will be presented on February 1st, 2023.
What happenes during the halwa ceremony?
The ceremony includes the Finance Minister stirring a popular sweet dish, halwa, in a wok and it is served by colleagues from the Ministry of Finance and officials from other Ministries in the North Block building. In the past, after the ceremony, the budget documents were printed, but in the year 2021 due to the pandemic, the budget process went paperless.
The “halwa” ceremony holds great significance as it marks the end of the budget preparations and the start of secrecy, where all finance ministry officials involved in the budget are shifted in the basement of the North Block until the budget is presented to ensure that there are no leaks in the budget for the next financial year, prepared in consultation with the Niti Aayog and other concerned Ministries.
The ceremony did not happen last year
The event was postponed in 2022 because of health and safety issues associated to the pandemic, but the Ministry of Finance announced that it will take place once again in the Budget press, which is located inside the North Block.
The Union Budget 2023–24 would be provided in a paperless format, the statement added, as will the two prior budgets. It should be mentioned that the budget materials will be accessible through the Union Budget Mobile App, which was developed last year to make it easier for members of parliament and the general public to obtain budget documents following the presentation.
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