The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is exploring the possibility of issuing a digital version of the Indian Rupee, it said in a booklet on Payment Systems in India between 2010 and 2020, released on January 25. While central banks around the world have begun exploring the possibility of issuing a central bank backed-digital currency (CBDC) or in various stages of rolling out digital fiat currencies, Indian regulators have been skeptical about CBDCs and crypto-currencies. "Private digital currencies (PDCs) / virtual currencies (VCs) / crypto currencies (CCs) have gained popularity in recent years. In India, the regulators and governments have been sceptical about these currencies and are apprehensive about the associated risks. Nevertheless, RBI is exploring the possibility as to whether there is a need for a digital version of fiat currency and in case there is, then how to operationalise it"—RBI Booklet on Payment Systems in India. The idea of a Digital Rupee was first proposed by a Finance Ministry committee back in February 2019. “It may be possible to visualise some models of future official digital currencies but as of date it is unclear whether there is clear advantage in the context of India to come up with a official digital currency,” it said. In fact, the RBI said that it had set up inter-departmental group “to study and provide guidance on the desirability and feasibility to introduce a central bank digital currency,” in its annual report for 2017-2018. When asked about CBDCs back in December 2019, RBI…
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