Halwa Ceremony for 2024-25 Budget at North Block
The Halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of the budget preparation process for the 2024-25 Budget, was held at North Block, New Delhi. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary attended the event along with other officials and staff involved in the budget preparation.
What is the Halwa Ceremony?
The Halwa ceremony is a traditional event where a sweet dish called ‘halwa’ is prepared in a large ‘kadhai’ at the North Block. The Finance Minister stirs the ‘kadhai’ and serves the halwa to everyone involved in the budget-making process. This ceremony acknowledges the hard work of all finance ministry officials.
Significance of the Ceremony
The ceremony marks the beginning of the ‘lock-in’ process, where no official is allowed to leave the ministry compound until the budget is presented in Parliament. The printing of the Union Budget documents also starts after this ceremony.
Upcoming Budget Session
The budget session of Parliament will begin on July 22 and end on August 12. This will be Nirmala Sitharaman’s sixth Budget speech, surpassing the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. The Budget 2024 will be delivered in paperless form, and all documents will be available on the Union Budget Mobile App, which is bilingual and available on both Android and iOS platforms.
