New Delhi, March 23 India must adopt a radical approach and review its defense spending in light of the ongoing war in West Asia and the changing geopolitical landscape, said Fauzia Khan, a member of the Rajya Sabha from the NCP-SCP, on Monday.
Participating in discussions on the Appropriation Bill (2), 2026, in the Upper House, she criticized the actions of the US and Israel without explicitly naming them.
"When war itself is the issue, what solutions can it provide to other issues?" she asked.
"This is the time for us to review our defense spending. How indigenous is our war equipment? How powerful is our defense R&D? How prepared are we to face the unjust global suppression policies?" Khan said.
"When the president of an independent nation is kidnapped at will, and nations can be attacked at the pleasure of others, our budgets must speak out," she asserted.
Khan stated that geopolitics has rapidly changed in the last four weeks and is "changing even more rapidly than our imagination can keep pace," adding that "therefore, we must start thinking in a radical way now, in light of the ongoing war."
Noting that "the US Congress has proposed an additional budget of USD 200 billion," she said, "The war that has been called a mere excursion is costing USD 200 billion. That is what a war costs."
She further said, "Our planning must match the pace of change."
Referring to the Appropriation Bill (2), Khan said, "A large portion of the amount that has been appropriated must necessarily be used to combat the energy crisis that stares us in the face today."
She added that it must be ensured that India does not suffer from energy, financial, and physical hardship even for a second.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla (BJP) highlighted several steps taken by the NDA government, including enhancing renewable energy capacity and ethanol blending, coming to the aid of the country even as the West Asia war disrupted global oil supply.
Similarly, BJP member from Manipur, Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba, highlighted several steps and enhanced outlay for various schemes in India's Northeast region under the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Other BJP members, Dharmshila Gupta, Bhim Singh, and Shambhu Sharan Patel expressed that the union budget will accelerate India's growth towards becoming a developed nation.