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Authors

Dikshu C. Kukreja
Dikshu C. Kukreja
Mr. V. Raman Kumar
Mr. V. Raman Kumar
Ms. Chandra Ganjoo
Ms. Chandra Ganjoo
Sanjay Bhatia
Sanjay Bhatia
Aprameya Radhakrishna
Aprameya Radhakrishna
Colin Shah
Colin Shah
Shri P.R. Aqeel Ahmed
Shri P.R. Aqeel Ahmed
Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar
Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar
Alok Kirloskar
Alok Kirloskar
Pragati Khare
Pragati Khare
Devang Mody
Devang Mody
Vinay Kalantri
Vinay Kalantri

India – One of the pioneers in introducing CBDC

India – One of the pioneers in introducing CBDC

Introduction
The concept of money has experienced an evolution from commodity to metallic currency to paper currency to digital currency. Its changing features are defining the new financial landscape of the economy and with the advent of cutting-edge technologies, the digitalization of money is the next milestone in monetary history. Advancement in technology has made it possible for the development of a new form of money, viz. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

Reserve Bank of India also known as the Central Bank plays a pivotal role in the Indian financial system, it is an important pillar of the financial ecosystem. Fundamentally, it has always provided quick, seamless, efficient, and stable solutions for the economy. These quick and seamless solutions include payment systems and the issue of currency. Recent developments in technology made it possible for India, as a nation, to make significant progress towards innovation in digital payments. 

India has made a lot of progress towards innovation in digital payments, which can be clearly seen by the enactment of a separate law for Payment and Settlement Systems which has further enabled an orderly development in the payment eco-system in the country. Having payment options that are safe, secure, efficient, accessible, affordable, convenient, and available 24x7x365 days a year is a matter of great pride for India.

Central Bank Digital Currency in India
Reserve Bank of India defines CBDC (Digital Rupee (e₹)) as the legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form. It is akin to sovereign paper currency but takes a different form, which shall be exchangeable at par with the existing currency and shall be accepted as a medium of payment, legal tender, and a safe store of value.

The Government of India announced the launch of CBDC from FY 2022-23 onwards in the Union Budget placed in the Parliament on February 01, 2022.

With already introducing the first pilot in the Digital Rupee - wholesale segment (e₹-W) on November 1, 2022, the Reserve Bank has announced the launch of the first pilot for retail digital Rupee (e₹-R) on December 01, 2022, thereby making India one of the front-runners in digital payment domain, as most of the major economies have not introduced the CBDC yet.

CBDC is a digital or virtual currency, yet it is not comparable to the private virtual currencies which have mushroomed over the last decade. Private virtual currencies sit at substantial odds to the historical concept of money, they are not commodities or claims on commodities as they have no intrinsic value.

Relevance of CBDC for India
The introduction of CBDC cryptocurrency in India is expected to offer a range of benefits, such as reduced dependency on cash, lesser overall currency management cost, and reduced settlement risk. It could provide the general public and businesses with a convenient, electronic form of central bank money with safety and liquidity and provide entrepreneurs with a platform to create new products and services. Introducing CBDC in India would result in a more robust, efficient, trusted, regulated, and legal tender-based payment option (including cross-border payments).

However, the implementation of CBDC could also pose certain risks that may have a bearing on important public policy issues, such as risks to financial stability, monetary policy, financial market structure, and the cost and availability of credit. They need to be carefully evaluated against the potential benefits.

The features of CBDC include:

  • A sovereign currency issued by Central Bank in alignment with the monetary policy
  • Fungible legal tender for which holders need not have a bank account
  • Expected to lower the cost of issuance of money and transactions
  • Appears as a liability on the central bank’s balance sheet
  • Freely convertible against commercial bank money and cash
  • To be accepted as a medium of payment, legal tender, and a safe store of value by all citizens, enterprises and government agencies

Benefits of CBDC in India
The opportunities in CBDC in India are as follows:

  • It is centralised: Issued by the Reserve Bank of India, CBDC will come with an absolute guarantee, thereby marking a huge difference between cryptocurrencies and CBDC. CBDC is backed by the country’s central bank, however, cryptocurrency use in India on the other hand has no underlying asset and is absolutely private money.
  • Offers transparency: CBDC being a legal-tender-based option brings more transparency to the entire online transaction. As a user-friendly form of electronic central bank money, it will add safety and liquidity to transactions, thereby making cross-border payments more transparent. Moreover, since it is centrally driven, CBDC will ensure complete tax and regulatory compliance as well.
  • Ease of use: The digital revolution is taking the world by storm and no other area has witnessed such metamorphosis as payment and settlement systems, resulting in an array of digital options for the common man. Consumers now have a huge range of options to choose from when selecting a payment method to complete a transaction. They make this selection based on the value they attribute to a payment method in a certain situation as each payment mode has its own use and purpose.
  • Reduction in cost associated with physical cash management: The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) cost is borne by four stakeholders Central banks, private banks, businesses, and the general public. CBDC influences the overall value of money issued up to the point that it reduces the operational costs and the costs involved in delays in reconciliation and settlement. Although creating/issuing a CBDC, may entail fixed infrastructure costs, however, the subsequent marginal operating costs shall be low.
  • MSME Lending: Instant lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India can be possible with the help of CBDC. As more MSMEs use CBDC, banks can draw up a more accurate borrower risk profile. This can be used to promptly meet MSME financing requirements. Moreover, the stimulus for MSMEs can also be disbursed quickly from the central bank. This can help businesses grow and sustain themselves during periods of uncertainty where the availability of cash is limited. CBDC’s traceability can help MSMEs prove their creditworthiness. Moreover, it leads to transparency and can be extremely resilient to forgery.

Key Reasons for Issuance of CBDC
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget for 2022-23, in the parliament elaborated that introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would give a big boost to a digital economy. She asserted that digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system.

The key reasons for the issuance of CBDC include:

  • CBDC can be a preferred mode of holding central bank money rather than cash. It can facilitate large-value transactions and settlements as account-based CBDC could be used for real-time settlement among banks using a wallet pledged by deposits in the current accounts with the Central Banks through RTGS. This shall further the digitization process in the country.
  • In addition, CBDC could further enhance resilience in payments and provide core payment services outside of the commercial banking system. It can provide a new way or more options for the buyers to make payments, particularly for e-commerce (in cases where there is not any Cash on Delivery (COD) option). The CBDC-based payment system is not expected to substitute other modes of existing payment options rather it will supplement by providing another payment avenue to the larger public.
  • Digital currency can facilitate the inclusion of the unbanked population in the rural segment of the country. The offline functionality as an option will allow CBDCs to be transacted without the internet and thus, enable access in regions with poor or no internet connectivity. It shall also create digital footprints of the unbanked population in the financial system, which shall facilitate the easy availability of credit to them. Universal access to CBDC shall prove to be a game-changer.

Different jurisdictions have justified the adoption of digital currency for extremely diverse reasons, which are as follows:

  • In Sweden, the central bank faced dwindling usage of paper currency, and seek to popularise a more acceptable electronic form of currency
  • In Denmark, Germany, Japan, and the United States, jurisdictions with significant physical cash usage seek to make the issuance of a digital currency more efficient
  • Countries such as the Bahamas and the Caribbean having small and large numbers of islands spread out with geographical barriers which restrict the physical movement of cash have the motivation to go for CBDC
  • Central Banks seek to meet the public’s need for digital currencies, manifested in the increasing use of private virtual currencies, and thereby avoid the more damaging consequences of such private currencies

The Road Ahead
The scope of CBDC in India is such that it will have a significant impact on the Indian Economy in general and the banking sector in particular. The Digital Rupee issued by RBI shall form a part of the overall money supply in the economy which will impact the demand and prices, the velocity of circulation of currency would undergo a change, and the overall cost of transaction is expected to decrease, thereby bringing in efficiency.

Furthermore, it could significantly improve the monetary policy development in India, its real-time situational monitoring and enhanced surveillance enabled by the central bank digital currencies can go a long way in stimulating these processes.

There is still quite a lot of ambiguity in the regulatory environment for private virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies. Having a sound regulatory system with respect to private virtual currencies can surely be a step forward in the Indian economy wherein these private virtual currencies can co-exist with a sovereign digital currency.

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