Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the traditional 'halwa' ceremony on Tuesday, signalling the final phase of preparations for Union Budget 2024-25, set to be unveiled in Lok Sabha on July 23. 

The ceremony, held at the basement of North Block in New Delhi, involved the preparation and serving of 'halwa' to officials and staff members from the finance ministry who are directly involved in crafting the budget.

As part of the event, Minister Sitharaman also inspected the Budget Press and reviewed the arrangements, extending her best wishes to the involved officials. The upcoming budget, like its recent predecessors, will be presented in a paperless format and accessible through the Union Budget Mobile App for convenient access to all related documents.

Accompanying Sitharaman at the ceremony were Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, along with senior officials, including Finance Secretary T V Somanathan, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, and Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi.

The 'halwa' ceremony is a symbolic tradition marking the commencement of a lock-in period for finance ministry personnel involved in the budget preparation, maintaining confidentiality until the budget presentation concludes in Parliament. This ritual has evolved with technological advancements, transitioning from extensive document printing to digital dissemination since 2020.