New Delhi, Jan. 27 -- In India all good things begin with sweets. Keeping in tune with this age old tradion, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday kicked off the final budget-making exercise for the upcoming 2026-27 budget by helping prepare halwa, a dense, sweet, confectionery dessert originating from West Asia and popular across India.
For the taxpayer, the final budget recipe may be bitter or sweet though expectations are high that Sitharaman will use some secret ingredient to rustle up an appetising budget on February 1, ahead of crucial elections to several states including West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The halwa ceremony is a traditional way to start the printing of the budget papers and also marks the period w...