New Delhi: The traditional Halwa ceremony, which marks the final stage of the budget preparation every year, was held on Tuesday at the Budget Press in North Block, Delhi. The process of preparing the Union Budget 2026-27 has reached its final stage.

The ceremony signals that the budget preparation process has come to an end and the printing will begin. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary were present at the event.

Immediately after this ceremony, key officials involved in the preparation of the budget will go into a lock-in period. Until the budget is presented in Parliament on February 1^st. They will all spend their time in complete seclusion without any contact with the outside world. They will also stay away from facilities like phones and internet.

This strict rule has been followed for decades to prevent the leakage of the most crucial and confidential information related to the budget. On this occasion, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary served halwa to the officials and wished them well.

After the halwa ceremony, Nirmala Sitharaman visited the Budget Press. There, she reviewed the final arrangements for printing the budget documents. She specially wished the staff and the team of officials involved in the budget preparation and printing work. Secretaries of various departments under the Finance Ministry and other senior officials associated with the budget preparation process participated in the program.

Finance Ministry in a statement said that the budget documents will be released in digital form to make them easily accessible to the public. All key documents like the Annual Financial Report (Budget), Demand for Grants (Demand for Grants), and Finance Bill will be available through the Union Budget Mobile App.

Members of Parliament and the general public can easily know the budget details through this app. This app is available in English and Hindi on Android and iOS platforms. The documents can also be accessed through the website indiabudget.gov.in. However, the Government has clarified that these documents will be available on the app and website only after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech in Parliament on February 1^st.