Budget 2023: Traditional halwa ceremony conducted in presence of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman

The traditional halwa ceremony, which marks the last stage of the Union Budget preparation and planning process, was conducted on Thursday in presence of Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and ministers of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad. The finance minister will present the Union Budget 2023 on February 1, 2023, which is next Wednesday. 

The ceremony started with the finance minister stirring the halwa, a popular North Indian sweet dish, in a huge wok. The halwa is then served to the finance ministers, finance ministry colleagues, and officials from other ministries in the North Block building. 

Following this annual tradition, the officials from the finance department involved in the Budget preparation will be locked in the basement of the north block for approximately 10 days.  

They will remain there until Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the annual Budget on February 1. The step is taken to ensure that there are no leaks. The annual Budget document is the annual financial statement, which covers the estimated earnings from revenues and estimated expenditures during a particular fiscal. The whole process of compiling the Union Budget starts almost five-six months before it is presented in the parliament.  

After the halwa ceremony, the budget documents are printed. But now, as the budget has become paperless since 2021, the printing ritual is no more carried out. This year too, the finance ministry has declared that like the previous two budgets, the Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form. 

The halwa ceremony was skipped in 2022 owing to health and safety concerns due to the pandemic.  

On Wednesday, the finance ministry tweeted that the ceremony will be held in the Budget Press situated inside North Block on Thursday. 

“Along with the Union FM, the Halwa ceremony will be attended by the Union Ministers of State for Finance, along with Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance besides senior officials and members of the Union Budget Press," it said. 

In 2022, the finance ministry launched a Union Budget Mobile App for hassle-free access to Budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public after the process of the Budget presentation was completed in Parliament.

This year too, all the 14 Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill, etc. as prescribed by the Constitution, will be available on the “Union Budget Mobile App” for hassle-free access of Budget documents by MPs and the general public using the simplest form of digital convenience.  

It will be available in both English and Hindi languages and will be available on both Android and iOS platforms. The App can also be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in). 

The Union Budget has two parts. The Part A of the speech, which focuses on the state of the economy, new government schemes, and initiatives, is written primarily by the Economic Affairs Secretary. The Part B of the speech, which contains the personal finance and taxation announcements, is written by the Revenue Secretary.