The “Halwa ceremony,” which marks the start of the final stage of preparations for India’s Budget 2023 (Union Budget 2023-24), was held at North Block in New Delhi on January 26, 2023.
This ceremony was held in the presence of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Ministers of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad.
At the Halwa Ceremony, the Union Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, was joined by a number of officials and staff members of the Ministry of Finance who had been involved in the process of preparing and compiling the budget.
Dr. T.V. Somanathan (Finance Secretary & Secretary Expenditure), Shri Ajay Seth (Secretary, Economic Affairs), Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey (Secretary, DIPAM), Shri Sanjay Malhotra (Secretary Revenue), Dr. Anantha V. Nageswaran (Chief Economic Advisor), Shri Nitin Gupta (CBDT Chairman), Shri Vivek Johri (CBIC Chairman), and Shri Ashish Vachhani (Additional Secretary, Budget), were also present on the occasion.
As part of the “Halwa Ceremony,” the Finance Minister toured the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations, as well as extending her best wishes to the officials working on Budget 2023.
It should be noted that each year, a traditional Halwa ceremony is held prior to the start of the budget preparation process, or “lock-in.” Last year, though, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and to keep health safety in mind, sweets were given to the officials instead of the traditional Halwa.
The core staff involved in the budget preparation process remains isolated or locked in at the budget press office, situated in the North Block. These people won’t leave the budget press office to go home until the Finance Minister presents the budget to Parliament on February 1, 2023.
Mobile App for Paperless Budget 2023
India’s Budget 2023, or the Union Budget for 2023–24, is to be presented in paperless form by the Finance Minister in the Parliament on February 1, 2023, and the same shall be made available on the “Union Budget Mobile App” soon thereafter.
Union Budget 2023–24 on Mobile App shall provide easy and quick access to Union Budget information for all stakeholders, in English and Hindi, on both Android and iOS platforms.
Also, the mobile app can be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal http://www.indiabudget.gov.in, where all budget documents shall be made available with the key features and highlights.
The mobile app allows complete access to 14 important budget documents, including the budget speech, the finance bill for 2023, etc.
It may be noted that the first paperless budget was presented in 2021. Also, the above mobile app was launched for hassle-free access to budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public.
I have a feeling that the sweet dish known as halwa or Indian pudding, is prepared and served to the officials of the Finance Ministry as a symbol of good fortune and prosperity for the coming year. This ceremony has been performed as part of the process of creating the budget for several decades, and it is a time-honored symbol of the commitment and dedication of the Ministry to the advancement of India’s financial situation. Officials responsible for creating the budget use this event as a chance to take a break before becoming fully committed to their work up until the presentation of the budget in the Parliament. Hope the celebrations continue for general folks (taxpayers) as well!