Budget 2024 | What is the Halwa Ceremony?

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1.

As per tradition, the government will host a 'Halwa Ceremony' few days prior to the budget to kick off the event.

What is halwa ceremony

Traditionally, the 'Halwa Ceremony' is a pre-Budget event that formally flags off the printing of different documents associated with the budget, the consummation of the long-drawn Budget-making process that stretches over months.

During this ritual that has been going for decades, the Indian desert is prepared in a big wok (kadhai) and served to the Finance Ministry staff. The Finance Minister gives the go-ahead by stirring the kadhai and serving the sweet to officials.

The event takes place in the Finance Ministry's North Block basement in Central Delhi, where a special printing press is located.

Significance of the ceremony

In order to maintain secrecy and make sure that there are no leaks, the North Block basement is transformed into a fortress. Around 100 officials and other staff directly involved with either the making or the printing of the Budget are kept in absolute isolation and completely cut off from outside world until the Finance Minister finally presents the budget.

What does that mean?

Round-the-clock surveillance by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), no direct contact with their dear ones whatsoever during the quarantine period, supervised phone calls (in case of emergencies), a strong network of CCTVs, electronic jammers to prevent information leak, foolproof cybersecurity, among other things are strictly imposed. Only the Finance Minister is allowed to move in and out of the area but mobile phone usage inside the basement is restricted even for the top minister.

Following the budget leak in 1950, the printing press for the budget was changed from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to Minto Road and later to the North Block basement which has been the permanent printing press since 1980.