Sitharaman and most of her team moved from the historic North Block to the modern central secretariat complex at Kartavya Bhawan in September 2025. The halwa ceremony, a long-standing tradition, involves preparing and serving the dessert to ministry officials and staff associated with the Budget exercise and marks the beginning of the mandatory “lock-in” period for those involved, according to an official statement. Upholding convention, the event was organised in the North Block basement and attended by the finance minister along with senior officials.
During the ceremony, Sitharaman also inspected the Budget Press, reviewed readiness for the presentation and conveyed her best wishes to the entire Budget team. She was accompanied by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, departmental secretaries and other senior officers engaged in the Budget process.
