Central Bank Digital Currency: RBI evaluating running pilots for digital currency

“Introduction of CBDC has the imaginable to supply important benefits, specified arsenic reduced dependency connected cash, higher seigniorage owed to little transaction costs, reduced colony risk,” Shankar said portion addressing an lawsuit organised by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is examining usage cases of a cardinal slope integer currency (CBDC) and is besides looking astatine a phased implementation strategy. T Rabi Shankar, lawman politician of the RBI, said connected Thursday the cardinal slope was exploring the pros and cons for instauration of CBDC for immoderate clip and conducting pilots for it whitethorn beryllium a anticipation successful adjacent future.

A CBDC is simply a signifier of virtual currency that is issued by a cardinal slope arsenic an alternate to cash. Unlike cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are backed by the sovereign reserves of federation states and are frankincense not taxable to the aforesaid volatility.

“Introduction of CBDC has the imaginable to supply important benefits, specified arsenic reduced dependency connected cash, higher seigniorage owed to little transaction costs, reduced colony risk,” Shankar said portion addressing an lawsuit organised by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

The lawman politician said the RBI’s explanation of CBDC is simply a integer signifier of sovereign currency that tin beryllium converted into currency oregon sovereign-backed deposits. With this, India joins countries specified arsenic China, Russia and the UK, which person taken steps towards introducing CBDCs. Generally, countries person implemented circumstantial intent CBDCs successful the wholesale and retail segments. “Going forward, aft studying the interaction of these models, motorboat of wide intent CBDCs shall beryllium evaluated,” Shankar said.

He besides cautioned against risks associated with the integer currency. “There are associated risks nary doubt, but they request to beryllium cautiously evaluated against imaginable benefits. As is said, each thought volition person to hold for its time. Perhaps the clip for CBDCs is nigh,” helium said.

Although CBDCs are conceptually nary antithetic from banknotes, instauration of CBDC would necessitate an enabling ineligible model since the existent ineligible provisions are made keeping successful caput currency successful insubstantial signifier nether the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.