The madness of the 2020s just does not end. Each crisis looks worse than the previous one. The Trumpian bullying on trade has morphed into physical abuse of global infrastructure, putting both energy and food security for billions at risk. In a fully unpredictable world, where self-interest comes first, India needs to put on its energy and food security oxygen mask with long-term solutions, not band-aids. And we, as citizens, must prepare for a hard year ahead on inflation, markets and overall chaos. The journey from February to March 2026 shows how fast a good story can turn precarious. What looked like a launchpad year for a higher Indian growth trajectory is now quite the reverse. The Goldilocks moment of low inflation, above 7% growth, a comfortable stack of foreign reserves, a declining fiscal deficit, and a low current account deficit is under threat as the world reels from the West Asian fuel supply disruption.
