The Halwa Ceremony
Like every year, Ministry of Finance on Monday licked off the beginning of printing the interim budget 2019 documents by performing the Ceremony at the North Block in New Delhi. India’s Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley was absent from the symbolic ceremony as he was away to the US for a health check-up.
The connection of Dessert and Budget making in India
Halwa is a popular Indian dessert prepared from a mixture of semolina and sugar. Every year, the making of Halwa in North Block at New Delhi kicks off the process of printing budget.
The ceremony is held at same venue every year
The venue of the ceremony remains unchanged. The Halwa ceremony is held in North Block every year. Till 1950, the budget papers were printed in Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s Secretariat). However, the venue was moved to North Block following a leak and has been unchanged for the process of printing.