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Budget 2026: Experts Flag Climate Risk, Farm Sustainability And Housing Demand As Key Focus Areas
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Experts urge the Union Budget 2026 to prioritize climate resilience in agriculture, balanced fertiliser use, stable housing demand, and enhanced support.
As the Union Budget 2026 draws closer, experts across agriculture, climate policy and real estate are urging the government to move beyond incremental fixes and focus on long-term resilience, sustainable growth and efficient market mechanisms.
As the Union Budget 2026 draws closer, experts across agriculture, climate policy and real estate are urging the government to move beyond incremental fixes and focus on long-term resilience, sustainable growth and efficient market mechanisms. From climate shocks hitting farm output to the need for stable housing demand, the expectations are clear: policy certainty and targeted spending will matter more than headline numbers.
Climate resilience emerges as a priority for agriculture
Climate-linked risks are no longer theoretical for Indian agriculture. According to Pushan Sharma, Director at Crisil Intelligence, even a 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature can reduce crop yields by 4.5–9%, potentially causing economy-wide losses of up to 1.5% of GDP annually.
To counter this, Sharma stresses the need for sustained funding for the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture project, which supports climate-resilient technologies and on-ground adaptation. He also flags the need to scale up irrigation resilience under PMKSY schemes like Per Drop More Crop and Har Khet Ko Pani, noting that funding remains limited despite steady growth in micro-irrigation coverage.
Balanced fertiliser use and price support need sharper focus
Experts also point to the urgent need to rationalise fertiliser usage. India’s urea consumption remains well above the global average, with wide regional disparities. While schemes such as PM-PRANAM and Market Development Assistance aim to promote balanced and organic inputs, Sharma notes that these account for just 0.1% of the fertiliser budget in FY26, calling for higher allocations to ensure sustainability without hurting yields.
On farm incomes, low utilisation of price support schemes under PM AASHA remains a concern. Sharma suggests higher budgetary allocation, faster DBT settlements and stronger state-level incentives to improve uptake.
Housing and post-harvest reforms in focus
From the real estate side, Ashok Kapur, Chairman of Krishna Group and Krisumi Corporation, expects continued thrust on infrastructure spending and policy stability. He believes an extension of the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme and incentives for green housing could support demand and sustainable urban growth.
Meanwhile, Aditya Sesh, Founder & MD of Basiz, highlights the potential of e-Negotiable Warehouse Receipts to improve farm liquidity. He calls for higher spending on micro-warehouses, cold storage and farmer awareness to prevent distress sales.
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January 29, 2026, 19:57 IST
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Spirit starts monthslong process of dismantling airline after biggest collapse in a generation
Spirit Airlines‘ more than three-decade run ended over the weekend, but on Tuesday it was just starting the monthslong process of dismantling the company after the biggest U.S. airline collapse in a generation.
Spirit and its stakeholders were in bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York, to start that process, which will take months. The hearing included discussions about airport landing fees, aircraft and staffing.
The carrier filed a cumulative wind-down budget of around $217 million, though that number could change.
The budget went out to February 2028. It included more than $52 million in employee costs through July and another more than $52 million for aircraft-related expenses.
The airline had 59 Airbus A320s in service and 63 in storage, as well as 37 of the larger A321s in service, and 13 of them in storage, according to aviation data firm Cirium. More than three-quarters of its fleet was leased.
Spirit shut down operations after years of struggles, most recently from heavy debt loads and a surge in costs.
Spirit’s lawyer, Marshall Huebner of Davis Polk, told a bankruptcy court on Tuesday that the jump in jet fuel prices following the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran in February left the carrier with no choice but to shut down. That added $100 million in incremental costs for Spirit in March and April, he said.
U.S. bankruptcy court in White Plains, N.Y.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Talks for a potential government bailout in the form of a $500 million loan that could have given the government an up to 90% stake in Spirit fell apart late last week, and the carrier officially shut down at 3 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Spirit passengers scrambled to rebook reservations. American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and others said they have flown tens of thousands of Spirit customers who were stranded by the collapse.
Spirit had flown about 50,000 people in the day leading up to its closure. The airline said about 17,000 direct and indirect employees lost their jobs.
“The closing of Spirit Airlines is a sad and unfortunate event that adversely affects many parties, and that’s particularly true for the thousands of folks who are Spirit employees and families who depend on them,” the presiding judge, Sean Lane, said at Tuesday’s hearing.
“The stress level for these employees and affinities is very high, and they likely have many questions,” he continued. “Hopefully there’ll be some information discussed today to provide some answers to some of those questions, or provides information about where to get those answers. Bankruptcy can be a very difficult process, and today is a sad example of that.”
Under the changed system customers collect points rather than reward coupons, with £1 spent equalling one point.
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There have been extra jitters in UK government debt markets ahead of Thursday’s local and national elections.
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Spirit starts monthslong process of dismantling airline after biggest collapse in a generation
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