An important announcement regarding the cryptocurrency field came from India today. According to the announcement, India has taken significant steps for its own CBDC. It is noted that the number of users for the CBDC has reached 5 million. Let’s look at the details of the development.
Critical CBDC Announcement from the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das, stated that the country’s retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot has reached over 5 million users. However, he noted that the implementation of CBDC across the system should not be rushed.
Das emphasized the importance of thoroughly understanding the impacts of CBDC on users and the economy before moving to a full-scale implementation across the system. He also highlighted that new use cases and features would be gradually introduced.
When Did the Pilot Start?
The pilot application started at the end of 2022 and has been supported by 16 banks since then. However, no information was shared about the daily transaction volume. Das did not provide a specific date for the full-scale implementation of CBDC and indicated that a gradual transition is possible.
Das emphasized the importance of gradually introducing CBDC across the system. He underlined the need to comprehensively understand the impacts on users, monetary policy, the financial system, and the economy during the process. He also shared that various features of CBDC are being tested and some new use cases will be gradually implemented.
CBDCs Have the Potential to Increase Financial Inclusion
In particular, the programmability feature of CBDC has the potential to increase financial inclusion. Das stated that two use cases for farmers were piloted, facilitating money transfers for purposes such as purchasing agricultural inputs. The features used include functions like verifying farmers’ identities and supporting carbon credit production.
It is known that many countries around the world are making moves to launch their own CBDCs. India’s CBDC strategy is progressing carefully, considering the needs of the financial system and users. The Reserve Bank will continue to gradually expand the process to fully evaluate the potential impacts of the system and test its various features.
