New Delhi: The traditional Halwa ceremony, which signifies the concluding phase of the budget preparation for the full Budget of 2025-26, is scheduled to take place in North Block on Friday evening.
In line with established practice, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will preside over the ceremony, accompanied by Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary and various secretaries. Additionally, officers and staff who have contributed to the budget preparation and compilation will also be in attendance.
This annual Halwa ceremony is conducted prior to the commencement of the "lock-in" phase of the budget preparation. During the event, a large quantity of the Indian sweet dish, halwa, is prepared in a 'kadhai' at North Block.
The Finance Minister traditionally stirs the 'kadhai' and typically serves the halwa to all participants involved in the budget-making process. This ceremony serves as a recognition of the diligent efforts of finance ministry officials. It also signals the start of the printing of all budget documents in anticipation of the presentation in Parliament.
The halwa ceremony holds considerable significance as it marks the initiation of a lockdown at the finance ministry, prohibiting officials from leaving the ministry premises. Members of the Budget team may only exit after the financial documents have been presented in Parliament. The practice of printing the Union Budget in the basement of North Block has been a standard procedure since 1980.
The budget session of Parliament is set to commence on January 31 and is expected to conclude on April 4, with the budget presentation scheduled for February 1.
On January 31, President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint session of both houses of Parliament. Following this, there will be an inter-session break from February 14, with the two Houses resuming their sittings on March 10.
With the upcoming Budget Presentation, Sitharaman will have delivered her seventh budget. She has already broken the record previously held by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented five annual budgets and one interim budget during his tenure as finance minister from 1959 to 1964.
Similar to the recent full Union Budgets, the Budget 2025 will also be presented in a paperless format. Attention will be focused on the significant announcements and the government's economic outlook for the remainder of the Modi 3.0 administration. This budget arrives amid concerns over weak GDP figures and low consumption levels in the economy.
In the July-September quarter of the current financial year 2024-25, the Indian economy recorded a real growth rate of 5.4 percent, falling short of the Reserve Bank of India's forecast of 7 percent. The GDP growth in the April-June quarter also lagged behind the central bank's expectations.
In its most recent monetary policy review, the Reserve Bank revised India's growth forecast for 2024-25 down to 6.6 percent from an earlier estimate of 7.2 percent.
The Economic Survey presented in Parliament earlier this year conservatively estimated India's real GDP growth at 6.5-7 percent for 2024-25, while acknowledging that market expectations are higher. Real GDP growth reflects the economic growth adjusted for inflation.
India's GDP experienced a robust growth of 8.2 percent during the financial year 2023-24, maintaining its status as the fastest-growing major economy. The economy grew by 7.2 percent in 2022-23 and 8.7 percent in 2021-22.
