India’s RBI to soon commence pilot project of digital rupee

According to a concept paper published on Friday, the Reserve Bank of India will soon start small-scale trial launches of a central bank-backed digital rupee for certain use cases.

The RBI said it has been researching the advantages and disadvantages of a central bank digital currency for some time and is developing a plan to roll it out gradually.

The RBI noted that use cases for an e-rupee are being looked at in a manner that causes little to no disturbance to the financial system.

The Indian government had announced in February that a digital rupee will be introduced throughout this fiscal year.

With the rise of cryptocurrencies, the idea of a digital currency controlled by a central bank has gained ground in a number of nations.

The RBI said that it is the duty of the central bank to provide its people risk-free central bank digital money, which would give consumers the same experience as trading in cash in digital form, without any dangers connected with private cryptocurrencies.

The bank also said that it may take into account both wholesale and retail digital money, claiming that both has advantages.

According to RBI, a digital currency in its wholesale form might increase the efficiency and security of settlement processes, while a retail e-rupee would provide individuals with a more secure method of making digital payments.

Since the digital rupee aims to mimic the characteristics of currency, it will not accrue interest as bank deposits do. In addition, the RBI claimed that it would provide "reasonable anonymity for modest value transactions, similar to anonymity associated with real currency."

Since they are similar to cash, the RBI may take into consideration a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) that is "token-based," as opposed to a wholesale CBDC that would be "account-based."

The RBI also ruled that banks might act as middlemen in the issuance of the e-rupee. The central bank continued to be open to many technological possibilities.

According to the concept paper, the outcomes of the pilot projects will be included into the final design.

"A CBDC is anticipated to give an extra payment pathway to consumers, not to replace the present payment systems," the bank stated. "A CBDC is designed to complement, rather than replace, current forms of money."