India’s very own Digital Rupee is likely to be launched by early 2023, which will mirror any of the currently available private company operated electronic wallets, but with a change that it will be a sovereign-backed facility, as per a top government source.
The source, who wished not to be identified, said, the digital currency issued by the RBI would be numbered in units, just like every fiat currency has an unique number.
“The units issued in digital rupee would be included in the currency in circulation. It would not be very different from fiat currency. It would be more like an electronic form of fiat currency, so in a sense it would be a government-mandated electronic wallet,” the source said.
The government source further said, “In the case of a digital rupee instead of holding a note you will be holding a digital currency in your phone and it would be with the central bank and from there it would be transferred to any merchant. It is fully backed by the sovereign.”
In the budget 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will give a big boost to the digital economy.
“Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system. It is, therefore, proposed to introduce Digital rupee, using blockchain and other technologies, to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23,” the minister had said
The exact regulation governing this Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is yet to be finalised.
