Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lead halwa ceremony today
The traditional 'Halwa ceremony' to be held on Thursday in presence of finance minister Niramala Sitharaman to mark the beginning of compilation of budget documents.
Ahead of the 2023 Budget, officials from the Finance Ministry will hold the traditional halwa ceremony today. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be in attendance, alongside the Union Ministers of State for Finance and other senior officials.
"The Halwa ceremony, marking the final stage of the Budget preparation process for Union Budget 2023-24, will be held tomorrow in the presence of Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Budget Press situated inside North Block," the finance ministry said in a series of tweets on Wednesday afternoon.
The ceremony marks the beginning of compilation of budget documents. While it used to kick off an elaborate printing exercise, the Budget has been paperless for the past two years. Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form.
The Union Budget 2023-24 is to be presented on February 1 this year.
Officials involved in making the budget undergo a ‘lock-in’ process after the halwa ceremony in order to maintain secrecy. Following the dessert-centric ‘send off’ ceremony they will move to the basement of the north block - emerging only after the presentation on February 1.
Attended by all top officials, it also recognises and appreciates the many staffers who are part of the Budget-making process. The finance minister begins the ceremony by stirring the halwa in the kadhai and then serves it to colleagues at the ministry's headquarters in the national capital.
The ceremony had been curtailed last year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, sweets were provided to the core staff due to undergoing 'lock-in' at their workplaces.
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