New Delhi: The general budget is very important for the country. Which is introduced in the Parliament on 1 February by the Ministry of Finance. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2022-2023 this year. Let us tell you that the budget is prepared after a lot of process and it is read by the Finance Minister in the Parliament. Before this a very special ritual is performed. It is called Halwa Ceremony.
What is Halwa Ceremony
Every year, before the budget is presented, halwa is prepared in a large pan in the office of the Ministry of Finance and given to all the officials involved in the budget. The Finance Minister himself leads this program. Apart from them, other officials of the Ministry of Finance also participate in this ceremony.
According to Indian tradition, before starting any new work, there is a tradition of sweet, while the reason behind this ritual is. That is why this tradition is followed before sending the budget for printing. At the same time, in Indian tradition, halwa is considered very auspicious.
On the other hand, research has also revealed that positivity and energy are transmitted by eating sweets, so Halwa Ceremony was introduced in the budget process. After this ceremony, about 100 employees of the ministry involved in the budget making process are put under house arrest in the printing press built in the basement of North Block for the next few days. Where no outsider can contact them. This is also done so that there is no leak before the budget is presented.
what is general budget
Every year the General Budget is presented in the Parliament on 1 February. And this budget is presented by the Union Finance Minister. The Annual Finance Report presented every year is called ‘General Budget’. Statement of Accounts, Estimated Receipts and Estimated Expenditure for the ensuing financial year beginning 1st April. However, the approval of the expenditure on the government schemes involved in this depends on the Parliament. Through the budget, the Finance Minister seeks Parliament’s approval for raising funds through taxes, duties and loans.
Now the budget is presented in a paperless manner
It is noteworthy that after the Halwa Ceremony, the work of printing the budget paper used to start, but from the year 2021, the budget has been made paperless. Now the budget reaches the Parliament in soft copy in tablet device. Let us inform that, for the first time last year, the budget was presented in paperless form (soft copy).