New Delhi, May 25 -- If you've recently winced at the price of your whey protein tub, you're not alone. Global shipping bottlenecks caused by the US-Israel war are partly responsible for the hike in prices of protein supplements. And it's one of the many second-order effects of war that will start showing up in household budgets.

As a fallout of the war, the government increased petrol and diesel prices by about Rs.7.5 per litre since 15 May, when they were hiked for the first time in four years. Consumers can feel the pinch of higher fuel prices directly, but the real squeeze will come from other places as well over the next six to nine months.

The impact of expensive fuel extends to the truck that carries vegetables from the farm, the...