On his final day as RBI Governor, Shaktikanta Das expressed optimism about the Digital Rupee CBDC’s potential to drive India’s economy forward.
During his last day in office, Shaktikanta Das, the governor of India’s central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shared his vision on how the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) Digital Rupee can play a pivotal role in steering the economy ahead.
He spoke about the efforts required to capitalize on new technologies while setting up a regulatory sandbox for fintech innovation. Shaktikanta Das also stated that while central banks across the world have been stuck with initial discussions and experimentation on CBDCs, India has made significant progress.
He also stated that “the RBI, among central banks, is a pioneer”, noting that it is one of the few to launch a pilot CBDC project. Das expressed optimism about the future of CBDCs in India’s economy as he concluded his tenure. He said:
“As I see it, CBDC has a huge potential in the coming years, in the future. In fact, it is the future of currency.”
Previous reports also indicated that India is considering using CBDCs as the primary settlement mechanism for its payments platform, which is already operational in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal. This partnership aims to streamline payments between countries, making transactions faster and more efficient, which could significantly enhance trade and remittances.
The RBI remains committed to developing a seamless digital payment system for Indian citizens. Additionally, it has collaborated with other central banks across Asia to establish a platform for cross-border payments.
India’s CEA Demands Regulatory Transparency for Bitcoin, CBDC, and Other Crypto Assets
India’s Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran recently slammed Indian regulators adding that they should not stand in the way of innovations taking place in the crypto and gaming sector. His comments came while speaking at the Global Economic Policy Forum 2024, on Wednesday, December 11. The CEA stated:
“We should be sure of the criteria we want to set for the regulator to not stand in the way of innovations. The same principle of transparency and social cost benefits that we want to apply to regulated entities and some of their financial innovations should also apply to the regulator themselves”.
As per Nageswaran, regulators should adhere to the same principles of transparency expected from the entities they regulate, which includes sharing information. Additionally, regulators must be mindful of the limits of their unelected powers, he said.
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