The printing process for the 2020-21 budget will begin today with the Halwa Ceremony ritual. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, other ministry officials and clerks will be present at the ceremony to be held in the North Block.
'Halwa Ceremony' has been a tradition that has been going on for a long time. As part of the ritual,' halwa' is prepared in a large' kadhai' (vessel) and is served by the entire staff of the ministry. The importance of the sweet dish is that, after it has been served, a large number of officials and support staff are directly involved in the budgeting and printing process.
Officials are required to remain in the ministry and remain cut off from their families until the finance minister presents the budget to Lok Sabha. We are not even allowed to contact their loved ones by phone or any other form of communication, such as e-mail.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union budget at 11 a.m. on 1 February, according to the Lok Sabha calendar.
