The final stage of preparations for the Union Budget 2026–27 commenced on Tuesday with the traditional Halwa Ceremony, held at the Budget Press in North Block. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary were present on the occasion.
The Halwa Ceremony is a customary ritual that marks the beginning of the final phase of the budget preparation process. During the ceremony, the traditional Indian dessert ‘halwa’ is prepared and served to officials and staff of the Ministry of Finance involved in drafting the Union Budget.
The ceremony was held at North Block on Raisina Hill, the former premises of the Ministry of Finance, as the new office building at Kartavya Bhawan–I does not have a printing press.
The Halwa Ceremony precedes the ‘lock-in’ period for officials associated with budget preparation. During this period, finance ministry officials and staff remain confined to the basement of North Block, completely cut off from the outside world to maintain the confidentiality of the budget documents. They emerge only after the Finance Minister completes the Budget speech in the Lok Sabha.
The Union Budget 2026–27 is scheduled to be presented on Sunday, February 1.
During the ceremony, Sitharaman was accompanied by secretaries of all departments under the Ministry of Finance and other senior officers associated with the budget-making process. As part of the event, the Finance Minister also toured the Budget Press, reviewed the preparedness, and extended her best wishes to the entire budget team.
All Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as the Budget), Demands for Grants and the Finance Bill, will be made available on the “Union Budget Mobile App” for easy access by Members of Parliament and the general public in a digital format. The bilingual app, available in English and Hindi, can be accessed on both Android and iOS platforms.
The app can also be downloaded from the Union Budget web portal at www.indiabudget.gov.in. The budget documents will be available on the mobile app and the website after the completion of the Finance Minister’s Budget speech in Parliament on Sunday.