The Reserve Bank of India may launch India’s first digital currency trial programs by December,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das told a business channel in an interview. The digital currency in India is anticipated to be rolled out after the successful trials.
“We are being extremely careful about it because it’s completely a new product, not just for RBI, but globally,” Das said in an interaction with the international business news channel on Thursday. “I think by the end of the year, we should be able to — we would be in a position, perhaps — to start our first trials of India’s Digital Currency,” he added.
Digital Currency in India likely to be go on trial in December 2021
The RBI is studying various aspects of a digital currency including its security, impact on India’s financial sector as well as how it would affect monetary policy and currency in circulation, according to the governor.
Central bank digital currencies, or (CBDCs) are digital or virtual currencies. They are basically the digital version (in an electronic form) of fiat currencies, for India that would be its domestic currency rupee.
Last month, RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar had said that the central bank is working on a phased implementation strategy for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and examining use cases to ensure that there is little or no disruption.
What you need to know about India’s Digital Currency
India’s Digital Currency “They are not commodities or claims on commodities as they have no intrinsic value; some claims that they are akin to gold clearly seem opportunistic,” he said, adding that a CBDC is the same as a currency issued by a central bank but takes a different form than paper. The RBI Governor was speaking to CNBC Channel.