India's remittance engine is staring at a stress test it hasn't quite encountered in years. For a long time, the country's external sector has rested on a quiet but powerful cushion: a steady flow of money sent home by Indians abroad. As conflict involving Iran and US-Israel escalates in West Asia, alongside the Trump administration's actions on Iran, spilling beyond geopolitics into labour markets and household incomes, India's remittance story is entering a more uncertain chapter. The Economic Survey 2025-26 notes that private transfer receipts, primarily remittances, continue to be a "key source of external-sector strength." Inflows rose to $73 billion in the first half of FY26, up from $64.7 billion a year earlier.