It is not surprising that the current US-Israel-versus-Iran war is having a far more widespread impact on India’s economy. This war could be to India what the 1970s energy crises were to the Western economies. Indian farmers are unlikely to go back to ploughing their fields with bullocks or replace factory-made chemical fertilisers with composted cow manure. Efficient use of resources that India lacks, along with paying their full scarcity value and searching for viable alternatives, has to be mainstreamed into government policy and consumer behaviour. It means not subsidising fertilisers or limiting it to a certain number of bags per farmer, à la LPG cylinders.

Source: Indian Express March 30, 2026 13:16 UTC