Concise high-level review of Indian Budget 2018

Overall it's a good budget. I would give 3 out of 5 stars to the budget.

1. The first best aspect of the budget is the fiscal discipline. Though there is some amount of wastefulness, the Finance Minister has not taken his eye off fiscal deficit.
2. The second best aspect is attention given to Universal Healthcare. I am a strong votary of basic Universal Healthcare (though I am against the State paying for expensive treatments for its citizens).
3. The third best aspect is the attention given to poor people. Yes, there is not much for the middle class to cheer about. However, the Government should be prioritizing the basic needs of the poor over the aspirational wants of the middle class.

That said, the budget is not out-of-the-box. May be, the Government lost appetite for risky moves, after the (well-intentioned) adventure of demonetization!

Addendum:
"Indian Government will take all measures to curb use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin" - Budget 2018 by Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister.

This is a bad declaration by the Finance Minister because this crude move will stop innovation that is taking place in this powerful space in India.

Bitcoin and fiat money

All it takes is a major, difficult, damaging, long war involving a developed nation, and then the bitcoin will be more widely used for storing part of assets, as people become a little more wary of the fiat money they own.

White paper from QuietGrowth Tech: In-house versus Outsourced Model for Tech Development

Download the latest white paper from QuietGrowth Tech: "In-house versus Outsourced Model for Tech Development". This white paper is relevant to any team involved in tech development.

Link: quietgrowthtech.com/white-paper-in-house-versus-outsourced-model-for-tech-development

Digitant launches a new initiative: Digitant Talent Solutions

Digitant launches a new initiative: Digitant Talent Solutions (digitanttalentsolutions.com).

The goal is to provide tested, certified, scored and curated Digital Marketing talent to companies.

Good luck Gayathri ! Check out the raison d'être in the words of  Gayathri: linkedin.com/pulse/digital-marketing-talent-gap-far-wide-gayathri-choda

Subsidy for digital payments is high and should be avoided

US$392 million (2512 crore INR) taxpayer subsidy to wealthy and middle classes for their debit card transactions and online BHIM UPI or Andhaar-enabled transactions to promote digital payments is not proper, when India has urgent investment need in R&D, primary education for the poor, primary healthcare for the poor, railway infrastructure and environmental conservation.

Promoting digital payments is not bad. The Government should opt for more cost-effective measures such as:

1. Subsidy on merchant discount rate (MDR) for one day, say, Republic Day 2018
2. Asking some notable people to endorse digital payments
3. Honoring financial institutions that innovate to reduce the cost of a digital transaction
4. R&D grants to reward innovations in digital transactions

State of economy: Uttar Pradesh in India

If Uttar Pradesh state becomes an independent country, then it will be the POOREST "large" country in the world.

Solution: work hard, avoid marrying at young age, have less children, vote for honest public representatives.

Primary reason for not supporting bitcoin

Primary reason I am not supporting bitcoin is due to its enormous destructive impact on environment. This is only going to get much worse. Hoping that a new innovation will replace this craziness as soon as possible.

Link: powercompare.co.uk/bitcoin

Temporary solution: Governments should regulate the electricity supply to bitcoin mining. Price the supplied electricity much higher. There are challenges to implementation, but doable.

Environment, and quality of life of common man are most important.