Budget 2023 in final stage of preparation as Nirmala Sitharaman distributes halwa among staff

Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hands a plate of halwa to a staffer (Image credit: PIB)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday afternoon distributed halwa among the staff in a ceremony that marked the final stage of the Budget preparation process for Union Budget 2023-24. The ceremony is an annual ritual in which the traditional dessert 'halwa' is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who were involved in the preparation of the Budget.

Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad were also present at the event.

Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman also distributed halwa to members of Budget Press along with other staff of the @FinMinIndia present on the occasion. (5/5) pic.twitter.com/t8vKcH17IO

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— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) January 26, 2023

The Halwa ceremony is organised every year in the basement of North Block, which houses the ministry in the national capital, and is attended by the finance minister and other high-ranking officials.

The ceremony was curtailed last year in view of the Covid pandemic and instead, sweets were distributed to the core staff. This year, the customary 'halwa' ceremony, performed every year before the 'lock-in' process of Budget preparation begins, coincided with Republic Day.

Besides Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat K Karad and other senior officials including Finance Secretary T V Somanathan, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, and Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra were present at the ceremony on Thursday, visuals of the event shared on the official Twitter handle showed.

The final stage of the Budget preparation process for Union Budget 2023-24 commenced with the Halwa ceremony in the presence of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. @nsitharaman, here today.

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(1/5) pic.twitter.com/3Rd3n8bCET

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) January 26, 2023

Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present on February 1 her fifth straight budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1. Like the previous two, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form.

Read more: Budget 2023 Expectations highlights: Experts list out what the key priorities should be