MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced the launch of digital currency “e-Rupee” on a trial basis for limited use. This will help the central bank know some of the pros and cons of introducing a digital currency. As the coverage of the “Central Bank Digital Currency”, i.e. the currency of the CBDC, increases, the Reserve Bank will continue to inform about its features and benefits.

In the concept notes presented by the Reserve Bank of India on digital currency, important issues such as e-Rupee technology and design choices, potential uses of digital rupee and the mechanism of its introduction were discussed. The electronic rupee will only be really used after checking the advantages and disadvantages of introducing a digital currency in the country.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the 2022-23 budget that the Reserve Bank would introduce its digital currency in the fiscal year beginning in April 2022 to promote the digital economy and efficient currency management. While the Reserve Bank is firm on the “Central Bank Digital Currency” i.e. CBDC Currency, it has also indicated that this way of using the currency is difficult in practice. Therefore, it plans to pave the way for digital currency through different stages starting from concept, then piloting, then actual use of digital currency. Having curbed speculation in Bitcoin and similar “crypto” currencies, the RBI currency will provide the necessary structural framework for the economy for virtual currencies.