What Do the Numbers Tell? An Analysis of Union Budget 2017-18

Budget 2017-18 is placed at an important juncture when there has been a thrust by the government for a digitised and a consequent cashless economy with the demonetisation of high value currency notes undertaken in November last year. A number of claims have been made in the budget speech by the Finance Minister regarding longer term benefits of this move for the Indian Economy. To quote the FM, demonetisation would lead the economy towards “reduced corruption, greater digitisation of the economy, increased flow of financial savings and greater formalisation of the economy, all of which would eventually lead to higher GDP growth and tax revenues”. [CBGA].