Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget on behalf of the Modi government on Sunday, February 1, 2026. This will be the historic ninth time that Sitharaman will present the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha of Parliament. Preparations are now in their final stages. Meanwhile, we are continuously sharing many stories related to the budget. For example, the first budget of India was presented by James Wilson on April 7, 1860, during British rule. The first budget of independent India was presented on November 26, 1947. This was an interim budget, presented by the then Finance Minister R.K. Presented by Shanmukham Chetty. The first budget of Republic India was presented on 28 February 1950 by the then Finance Minister John Mathai. Now we are talking about the time when without letters, phones or any contact with the outside world, the officers and employees of the Finance Ministry remain confined to a particular place in the Ministry (North Block) for a month (fixed time) while working on the Budget. Let us know why the budget is so confidential.
Budget leaked from Rashtrapati Bhavan
Let’s start with an incident from 1950. Then the country’s budget was leaked. Since then, budget secrecy has become even more important and strict. Until 1950, the country’s budget was printed at Rashtrapati Bhavan (the official residence of the President). It is said that in 1950, some pages of the budget were leaked from Rashtrapati Bhavan even before it was presented in Parliament. John Mathai was the Finance Minister at that time. The budget leak became such a big issue that Finance Minister Mathai had to resign from his post. After this incident two major changes were made. The first change was that the work of preparing and printing the budget was shifted from Rashtrapati Bhavan to North Block (before that, for some time, it was done at the press at Minto Road till 1980). The second change was to implement strict rules/protocols such as ‘lock-in period’ to prevent such incidents.
Secrecy of budget is important
Budget is a statement of estimated expenditure and revenue of a government. It is an annual financial document which is presented by the Finance Minister in the Parliament of the country. In India, the budget is presented on a financial year basis. Usually presented on February 1, the budget comes into effect from April 1 and runs till March 31. The country’s budget is very sensitive and confidential. Similarly, the process of making it and the people involved in its preparation also work under strict confidentiality. After the budget is finalized, it is presented to the nation in the Parliament by the Finance Minister. Before presenting it, it is important to keep it confidential. For this, the government implements several levels of security and protocols.
‘Lock-in period’
In 1950, the budget leak from Rashtrapati Bhavan and the subsequent resignation of the Finance Minister caused a huge uproar in the entire country. Then the rule of ‘lock-in period’ was introduced to maintain the secrecy of the budget. According to this rule, all the officers and employees of the Finance Ministry and other concerned people involved in budget making are completely isolated from the outside world in North Block. During this time, they can neither go home nor use the phone or any other prohibited things. They are not allowed to meet anyone from the outside world during the ‘lock-in period’. This means that until the Finance Minister presents the budget in Parliament, he remains cut off from the outside world. This ‘lock-in period’ is very important to maintain the confidentiality of the budget.
Halwa Ceremony
Before the final stage of budget preparation and printing, a traditional Halwa ceremony is performed. It includes the Finance Minister and all the officers and employees of the Finance Ministry involved in making the budget. During this ceremony, halwa (a sweet dish) is prepared in a big pot and distributed among everyone. After this, the final stage of budget preparation begins, accompanied by stringent rules and the ‘lock-in period’ that marks the secrecy of the budget.