Budget 2026: The 40+-year-old tradition of the Halwa Ceremony and why the officials working on the budget have to disconnect from the world for 'lock-in' period

It's a tradition followed by the Finance Ministry, where they host a halwa ceremony a few days prior to the Union Budget being presented in Parliament. The ceremony marks the commencement of the process of printing the Union Budget. This ceremonial activity takes place in the basement of the Finance Ministry (North Block) within Central Delhi, home to a dedicated printing press.

As per tradition, halwa, the popular Indian sweet dish, is prepared in a massive iron kadhai and served by the finance minister to all the ministers, officials and staff. The tradition begins after the finance minister stirs the kadhai. This year, the ceremony took place on January 27 in the Budget Press at North Block, in the presence of Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary. As per the press release, the ‘Halwa ceremony’ precedes the ‘lock-in’ of the officials involved in preparation of the Union Budget. The Union Budget 2026-27 will be presented on 1st February, 2026. At the Halwa Ceremony, the Union Finance Minister was accompanied by the Secretaries of all the Departments under the Ministry of Finance and other senior officers involved in Budget preparation. As part of the ceremony, the Union Finance Minister also took a tour of the Budget Press and reviewed the preparations, besides extending her best wishes to the entire budget team.

The ceremony initiates the 'lock-in' of the proposed budget so that it is not leaked into the market until it is tabled in Parliament. To maintain secrecy over the documents, for the next 9–10 days, the North Block basement is transformed into a fortress. It is a kind of ‘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. As per reports, ministry officials involved in the process of making or printing the budget are kept in isolation and completely cut off from the outside world, including their families. In case of any emergency, the family members of the officials have the option to leave a message on a designated number, but no direct communication is allowed.

The basement of North Block houses a printing press that was traditionally used to print budget documents for 40 years, from 1980 to 2020. Thereafter, the budget went digital with bare minimum documents printed and the bulk distribution happening via mobile app or on the website. The digitalization also reduced the lock-in period to just five days from the previous one, which earlier lasted up to two weeks. Earlier, the documents were printed at Rashtrapati Bhavan, but this was shifted to a press on Minto Road in the national capital in 1950 after documents were leaked, and in 1980 to North Block As per PIB, all Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill etc. will be available on the “Union Budget Mobile App” for hassle-free access of Budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the general public in a digital accessible mode, after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament on 1st February, 2026.

While the Narendra Modi government has done away with several traditional aspects of the Budget since coming to power in 2014, the ‘halwa’ ceremony as a tradition has survived and it speaks of the tradition of eating something sweet before doing something important. It is also a gesture of gratitude towards those officers and staff, who work relentlessly for months in preparing the budget, which defines and shapes the economy for the next financial year.

Ingredients required: 1 cup sooji, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup ghee, 2 cups water, and 1 tbsp. cardamom powder
Method: Heat ghee in a kadhai and add sooji to it. Cook until the colour changes. In the meantime, make sugar syrup using water and sugar. Also, add cardamom powder to it. Transfer the syrup to the cooked sooji, stir well, and cook until the ghee separates. Garnish with nuts, and your halwa is ready.