How will West Asia crisis impact Budget 2026? India can’t repeat Covid mistakes |
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How will West Asia crisis impact Budget 2026? India can’t repeat Covid mistakes
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has admitted the enormity of the challenges arising out of the conflict in West Asia, but has said the government has resources to provide targeted support.
Experts and analysts are comparing the ongoing West Asian conflict with the Covid pandemic. The government has also stated in Parliament that the challenging global situation arising out of the conflict will have an enduring impact on India, underlining the need for the country to stay prepared, much like it did during the pandemic.
In this context, an obvious question arises. What will be the impact of the West Asian conflict on the Union Budget for 2026-27, presented about two months ago? The past is often a pointer to the future. Looking back, it would be instructive to see how the Covid pandemic played havoc with all the basic numbers that the Union Budget for 2020-21 had presented on February 1, 2020.
Remember that two days before the Budget, the World Health Organization had declared Covid-19 a public health emergency. From January 17 onwards, the Indian government had also initiated measures to manage the Covid impact. These included steps to initiate point-of-entry and community surveillance, establish quarantine facilities and isolation wards, and provide adequate personal protective equipment, trained manpower, and rapid response teams.
Yet, the written speech for the 2020-21 Budget did not refer to the impending challenges posed by the pandemic. Of course, the Covid situation worsened with every passing day after the Budget presentation. The government imposed a country-wide lockdown on March 24, 2020, which was lifted more than two months later, at the end of May. The demand for tax relief was on the rise. But the government did not go in for any major tax concessions, except for ensuring an........