A report by the Think Change Forum highlighted that India should take steps such as tax moderation, targeted import curbs on non-essential and demerit goods, and time-bound enforcement of trade-remedy measures to protect itself from the adverse impacts of the West Asia conflict.
The report also pointed out that the global economic climate is under a profound stress test. It added that geopolitical volatility in West Asia is driving structural cost-push inflation across essential sectors — energy, agriculture, and manufacturing.
“The traditional fiscal response — relying on open-ended subsidies to buffer these shocks — is no longer sustainable. It creates a moral hazard by shielding firms from global volatility through perpetual subsidies, the policy disincentivises the structural efficiency and vertical integration necessary for global competitiveness,” it said.
This report proposes a strategic pivot — replacing blunt subsidy-led interventions with a precise, three-pillar framework of structural tax moderation and defensive trade alignment.
By dismantling inverted duty structures, calibrating tariffs dynamically, and restricting non-merit luxury imports, India can secure its domestic industrial base while maintaining fiscal discipline, it said, adding that this is a transition from reactive relief to proactive macroeconomic fortification.