As the country waits with bated breath for a new set of rebates, reliefs and reforms in the upcoming Union Budget 2020, the customary halwa ceremony, which marks the process of printing documents for the Budget, will be hosted by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on January 20.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, other officials of the ministry and clerks will be present at the ceremony which will be held at North Block.
As per the tradition, every year the government hosts a halwa ceremony, a few days before the Budget is presented, marking the official kick-off of events. The Indian dessert is prepared in a large vessel and served to the finance ministry staff.
The sweet beginning
The Halwa Ceremony is a customary pre-budget event that formally flags off the printing of different documents associated with the Budget, the consummation of the long-drawn Budget-making process that stretches over months. Traditionally, going by the ritual that has been carried out for decades now, halwa, a popular Indian dessert deemed auspicious, is prepared in a massive kadhai (wok) and dished out to the Finance Ministry staff. The finance minister gives the go-ahead by stirring the kadhai and serving the sweet to officials. It takes place in the basement of Finance Ministry's North Block in Central Delhi, where a special printing press is located.
What ensues post the event is what makes the ceremony significant. To maintain the secrecy that shrouds the entire Budget process and to leave no room for leaks, the North Block basement is transformed into a fortress. For about 10 days, around 100 officials and other staff directly involved with either the making or the printing of the Budget are kept in absolute isolation and completely cut off from outside world till the finance minister finally presents the Budget.
What does that mean?
Round the clock surveillance by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), no direct contact with their dear ones whatsoever during the quarantine period, supervised phone calls, in case of emergencies, a strong network of CCTVs, electronic jammers to prevent information leak, foolproof cybersecurity, among other things. Only the Finance Minister is allowed to move in and out of the area but mobile phone usage inside the basement is restricted even for the top minister.
Interestingly, till 1950, the Budget documents used to be printed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan but following a leak in the same year, the venue was shifted to Minto Road and later to the North Block basement which has been the permanent printing press since 1980.