The Harsh Truth - Why Students in India Are Missing the Blockchain Revolution

Welcome back,

Blockchain technology is one of the trending technologies around the world, but still, a lot of students in India are not participating in this field. Most of them are still following the traditional route where they pursue programming languages like C++ and Java, so they can sit for examinations and get a job in a company. One of the biggest reasons why blockchain has not yet been adopted widely in India is because it is linked with cryptocurrencies. In India, cryptocurrencies are still far from being adopted in a real and mainstream way, and there are several reasons why this is the case.

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I was recently talking to my cousin brother, who has just joined university. He is pursuing computer science engineering, and I asked him what he plans to do in the future. He told me that he is thinking of going ahead with artificial intelligence or maybe following the traditional path of learning C++ and Java, and then sitting for an examination to get a job. When I asked him what he thinks about blockchain technology, he told me that he does not know anything about it and has never heard of it before.

When I was in university back in the year 2017, I got to learn about Bitcoin and blockchain technology by the end of that year. That was the time I decided that I would not work in an institute or an organization. I made up my mind to take a route where I could become a freelancer and do something independently. Thankfully, today I am a trader, I am a blogger, and I also provide services to different blockchain projects. That is how I earn most of my income, and there is no boss I work under. I am my own boss and also thanks to platform like hive and Inleo as they are also contributing towards it.

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So back in those days, there were a few initial projects that started in India, but they later shifted to countries like Dubai where blockchain technology was supported. One of the main reasons why those big projects left India was because of the huge amount of tax that was imposed on people. If you do not know, let me tell you that on crypto gains, one has to pay thirty percent tax in India. Recently, one of the Indian crypto exchanges implemented a tax on transaction fees as well. For example, if you are planning to buy 1 lakh rupees worth of Bitcoin, you will generally pay a 100 rupees as a transaction fee. But after the new tax rule, 18 percent tax is taken as an extra fee, making the total fee 118 rupees.

This 18 percent tax is a separate tax that you pay for just the transaction fee. Later, you also have to pay thirty percent tax on your crypto gains by submitting the proper documents and data. If you fail to do so and the government finds out, you could face huge fines on top of the existing thirty percent tax. In a recent case I read about, there was a man who ended up paying a 70 percent penalty on top of the tax when he was caught by the authorities. It means almost 100 percent was paid by him.

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In short, people in India are forced to pay 30 percent tax, which is extremely high and discouraging. I believe that the government should stop focusing only on earning money from people and instead support futuristic technologies. If the government does not promote this technology, it will actually harm the students of this country. They will be left behind compared to students in other parts of the world who are already learning about blockchain technology and gaining hands-on experience in the field. I can say this as I am part of this community and I see how people are showing good interest in this field.

There are so many different ways one can provide service in the blockchain space. One can be a writer, one can be a developer, or even work as moderator in different projects, and earn a decent income from it. And all this can happen in a friendly work environment, unlike in most organizations where one has to work under a boss and deal with a lot of pressure.

For example, take the case of INLEO. If someone is a developer, they can start building something for INLEO and they will be appreciated for it. And if someone is interested in writing, they can simply create an account and start posting content there. Blockchain can truly become the key to financial freedom in the future. But sadly, most students here in India, and even people in their early thirties, are unable to see the value and benefits of it.

For anyone who wants to begin their journey in blockchain technology, blogging platforms like Hive and INLEO are great places to start. Here, one can write about blockchain or any other topic they are passionate about. They can also explore different libraries from JavaScript. For example, there is a library called Hive.js which is used for building applications on the Hive blockchain.

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I believe school students should be introduced to these platforms at an early stage. But because of the heavy tax policies and lack of awareness, no school or even most parents will support their children in exploring these opportunities, even though they are truly beneficial. I wish someday people in power here will stop looting people and actually think of the youth and their future.

So in the end, I conclude by saying that maybe blockchain is not meant for India at this moment. Anyone who wants to pursue blockchain or any related field may have to consider moving out of the country and building their career elsewhere. That is my personal opinion, and maybe people can have different views and I respect that. For now that is all for this blog.

Thank You and Happy trading everyone

Posted Using INLEO