What is the Halwa Ceremony?

About Halwa Ceremony: 

• The ceremony is a ritual in which traditional dessert ‘halwa’ is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the budget.
• It is a kind of a ‘send-off’ for finance ministry officials and staff involved in the preparation of the Union government’s annual financial statement.
• They enter what is called a ‘lock-in’ period, during which they stay in the basement of North Block, cut off from the world outside with a view to maintaining the secrecy around the final budget document.
• These stringent measures date back to a leak that occurred in 1950. A portion of the Union Budget was leaked while it was being printed at Rashtrapati Bhawan. As a result of the leak, the then Finance Minister, John Matthai, resigned.

Key facts about the Union Budget of India

• The Union Budget of India also referred to as the Annual Financial Statement in the Article 112 of the Constitution of India, is the annual budget of the Republic of India.
• It is also known as the Annual Financial Statement of the Government; however, the term "budget" is not mentioned in the Constitution.

Q1: What is a budget?

It is an annual financial statement for a specific period of time, usually a year, that outlines projected income and expenses. It is used as a tool for managing financial resources and achieving specific goals such as mobilization of resources, fiscal consolidation, etc.

Source: FM participates in customary ‘halwa’ ceremony; marks final stage of Budget preparation