Budget 2025: 'Halwa ceremony' today—what does it signify?
What's the story
The traditional Halwa ceremony, an important part of India's budget preparation, will take place today at North Block in the evening.
The annual ritual marks the beginning of the 'lock-in' phase in budget preparation.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be leading the ceremony, along with Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary and a few secretaries.
The event also celebrates the hard work of all finance ministry officials involved in preparing the budget.
Ritual details
Halwa ceremony: Tradition steeped in symbolism
The Halwa ceremony includes cooking of an Indian sweet dish in a huge 'kadhai' at North Block.
The Finance Minister ceremonially stirs the 'kadhai' and serves the halwa to all those involved in the budget-making process.
This also marks the beginning of a lockdown at the finance ministry, where no official is allowed to leave until the budget is presented in the Parliament.
Upcoming presentation
Budget 2025: A milestone for Sitharaman and India's economy
The upcoming Budget 2025 will be Sitharaman's seventh budget presentation, breaking the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964.
The budget session of parliament will begin on January 31 and end on April 4, with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of both houses on January 31.
The budget will be presented in a paperless format on February 1.
Growth outlook
Economic backdrop and growth projections for Budget 2025
The upcoming budget comes amid weak GDP numbers and low consumption in the economy.
The Indian economy expanded by 5.4% in real terms in the July-September quarter of the ongoing financial year 2024-25, below RBI's estimate of 7%.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut India's growth forecast for 2024-25 to 6.6% from an earlier estimate of 7.2%.