India budget focuses on the future while addressing challenges, and also provides a response to Trump and China

India knows how to overcome challenges. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman successfully attempted to demonstrate this in her 2026-2027 budget speech. Given the current global situation, India faced the significant challenge of shielding itself from negative impacts while simultaneously charting a path for future growth. In this budget, the Modi government has attempted to formulate policies that will strengthen India's position on both fronts. Therefore, it would not be wrong to call this the budget for a self-reliant India.

The Finance Minister began his budget speech by stating that the availability of special resources is currently very difficult. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the US's imperialistic methods to control the world's energy resources, and China's blackmailing of the world in the name of rare earth elements are not ordinary events. Adding to these difficulties is the high tariff imposed by the US on India. Clearly, India is battling on multiple fronts simultaneously. Now, let's examine what tools the budget offers to combat these challenges.

Emphasis on minimizing petroleum imports
India's top priority was to minimize petroleum imports. This was because the US was pressuring India regarding its petroleum purchases. The Trump administration wanted to prevent India from buying cheap oil from Russia at any cost. The 50 percent tariff was also imposed under this pretext. Now, there is pressure to buy oil from Venezuela, and obviously, India will not get the same concessions that Russia was offering. Therefore, the only option left for India is to reduce its dependence on petroleum imports as much as possible.

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