Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday participated in a traditional 'Halwa' ceremony, marking the final stage for preparation of the Interim Budget 2024 to be unveiled on February 1 in the Lok Sabha.
What Is The Halwa Ceremony?
The 'Halwa' ceremony is an annual ritual in which the traditional dessert is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the Budget. As a part of the ritual, the Finance Minister stirs the 'Halwa' and serves it to the officials.
Where Is Halwa Ceremony Organised?
The Halwa ceremony is organised every year in the basement of North Block, which houses the ministry in the national capital. It is attended by the finance minister and other high-ranking officials.
A customary Halwa ceremony is performed every year before the 'lock-in' process of Budget preparation begins, an official statement said.
As part of the ceremony, Sitharaman also took a round of the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations besides extending her best wishes to the officials concerned.
Significance Of Halwa Ceremony
The 'Halwa' ceremony is significant as a considerable number of officials along with support staff from the Ministry of Finance are involved in the creation and printing of the Union Budget and are required to stay in the premises of the North Block until the Union Budget is formally presented in the Parliament.
These officials are isolated from everyone, even their families for almost 10 days. This 'lock-in' arrangement is done to safeguard the confidentiality of budget-related information. Only a select few senior officials from the Ministry of Finance are granted permission to leave their work premises during this specific period.
👉 Final stage of preparations for #InterimUnionBudget2024 commences with #HalwaCeremony2024 in presence of Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman, Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. @DrBhagwatKarad.
January 24, 2024
👉 Like the previous three full Union Budgets, Interim Union Budget 2024… pic.twitter.com/8vo1Zi2juKWho Attended The Halwa Ceremony 2024?
At the 'Halwa' ceremony, Nirmala Sitharaman was also accompanied by
Dr. T.V. Somanathan, Finance Secretary & Secretary Expenditure
Ajay Seth, Secretary, Economic Affairs
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, DIPAM
Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary, Revenue
Nitin Gupta, Chairman, Central Board for Direct taxes (CBDT)
Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman, Central Board for Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)
Ashish Vachhani, Additional Secretary (Budget)
Others officers and staff of the Ministry of Finance, involved in the Budget preparation and compilation process, were also present on the occasion.
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