Prayers, 'hawan' ahead of Union Budget 2015-16

Special prayers were held in a 'gurudwara' in Lucknow and a 'hawan' was conducted in Kanpur on Saturday, marking the massive expectations from the Modi government's Union Budget for fiscal 2015-16.

"Our prayer is that inflation should come down and the common man must be able to eat and live easily and get his kids educated," said Harvinder Singh, one of those who prayed at the Gurudwara.

Meanwhile, people in Kanpur said they had organised the 'hawan' so that the Budget proves to be positive for the common man.

"We are organising this so that the Budget proves to be for the common man and there should be no increase in inflation," said one of the participants of the 'hawan'.

"We are expecting the good days that were promised to us. We are hoping they work to provide relief to the common man," added another participant.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present his first full-year Budget in Parliament at 11 am today, seeking to put the country on a path of 7-8 percent growth over the next two years.

The 2015-16 Budget is being billed as a "make-or-break" event for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's eight-month-old government.