Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on January 24 take part in the halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of preparing the Union Budget, which is to be presented on February 1.
Sweet dishes hold a strong cultural significance in India and are considered auspicious for any event.
Every year before the Budget, the traditional sweet dish halwa is prepared in a large kadhai (wok) at the North Block in Delhi and is ritualistically stirred by the finance minister.
It is then served to officials and staff members of the ministry involved in the budget-making process.
Budget lock-in period:
Apart from the cultural significance of the ceremony, it symbolises the beginning of the budget 'lock-in' period at the finance ministry.
During this period, all officials and staff directly involved in the budget preparation are required to stay within the ministry premises until the budget is tabled in Parliament. Their phone calls, too, are supervised. They are not allowed to move out and are constantly watched by CCTV cameras and the Intelligence Bureau.
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The 1950 Budget Leak:
The halwa ritual goes back to a budget leak in 1950. During those times, the budget was printed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In 1950, a major portion of the budget got leaked during the printing process. The then-finance minister John Mathai resigned shortly after presenting the Budget following allegations of favouritism.
After the leak, the budget’s printing was shifted to a government press on the capital’s Minto Road. Soon after, “lock-in” period was introduced.
Though the exact year in which the halwa ceremony was introduced remains unclear, it is considered to have begun around these times.
Sitharaman will present her eighth consecutive budget on February 1, the highest number by any finance minister.
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