Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman leads pre-budget 'halwa ceremony'

New Delhi: Ahead of the Union Budget presentation on February 1, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday led the Halwa ceremony held at the North Block. Accompanying her were Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur, Finance Secretary Dr A B Pandey, Expenditure Secretary and others.

While the halwa ceremony marks the printing of the Budget documents, this year's Union Budget will be paperless, owing to the prevalent Covid-19 pandemic. There will also be no printing of the economic survey.

The Indian dessert is prepared in a big kadhai and served to the entire staff involved in the budget preparation. The significance of serving halwa to the officials is to mark the secrecy of the whole project. It also intends to laud the efforts of the staff involved in the budget-making process. Soon after the halwa ceremony, the officials who are involved in the making of the Union Budget have to stay at the North Block, cut off from their families till the presentation of the budget in the Lok Sabha.

They are not allowed to contact their families through phone or any other form of communication, such as e-mail, texts. Only very senior officials in the Finance ministry are permitted to go home.

Mobile phone jammers are installed to block phone calls. Internet connections of staff and senior officials are cut. Phone calls made through landlines installed are closely monitored.