Union Budget 2024, Halwa Ceremony: Ahead of the full Union Budget 2024 on July 23, the traditional ‘halwa’ ceremony was performed inside the basement of the finance ministry on Tuesday. With this, the lock-in period has begun for the officials of the North Block-headquartered ministry. All officials who are part of the budget preparation will be able to go out only after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman completes her budget speech in Parliament on July 23.

This custom, which is also a way of appreciating the hard work of all officials and staff involved in the tedious process, is the final step for the Budget. Apart from Sitharaman, other senior officials of the ministry such as Finance Secretary TV Somanathan, Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth took part in the customary ceremony.

Union Budget 2024: What’s a lock-in at finance ministry

As the name suggests, the beginning of the lock-in period means all officials and staff involved in the budget preparation will stay in the North Block basement. No official is allowed to maintain any contact with the outside world. This is done to keep the secrecy of the annual financial statement intact.

Union Budget 2024: What’s inside the North Block basement?

The basement of the North Block used to be the main venue of printing all budget documents. The printing press inside the basement was in use for four decades between 1980 and 2020. However, once the Union Budget went all digital, the press was used to print only some key documents. These days, almost the entire budget is being sent via mobile apps and dedicated web portals of Government of India.