Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar on Wednesday said that the RBI will launch its digital currency as a pilot project this year. Speaking at the India Ideas Summit, he said that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is the most efficient system for cross-border payments.

The introduction of CBDC was promised for 2022–2023 in the Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. However, he emphasised that RBI is keen to provide customers with workable options rather than pushing for a cashless future. Sankar added that UPI, or the Unified Payments Interface, is likely to become more globally oriented. He stated that the RBI is attempting to adjust policy regarding digital payments in response to input from stakeholders. Sankar highlighted that the country's digital payments market was expanding at a rate of 40 to 50% annually, underscoring its growing significance. At the same time, the Deputy Governor of the RBI stated that the central bank is working to protect data privacy in the context of digital infrastructure. He continued by saying that it is also aiming to scale up the technological stability of the digital payments infrastructure. In relation to this, Sankar stated that the RBI is concentrating on stepping up fraud management.

Observing that India has an excellent, cheap and fast domestic payments system, he said the cost of cross-border payment, however, is still high. There is a lot of scope for improvement in terms of both cost and speed, he noted.

The Reserve Bank Deputy Governor also said, central bank digital currency (CBDC), which will be introduced this year, might be used to speed up and lower the cost of international transactions. According to the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget announcement, the RBI has recommended to begin operations on a trial basis this year.

The finance minister had stated that the RBI would launch a digital counterpart to the rupee in the current fiscal year in the Union Budget for 2022–2023. He stated at the India Ideas Summit that "we must comprehend that CBDC's internationalisation is vital to tackling the payments issue that organisations like the G-20 and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are now working with." Although India has a great domestic payments system that is inexpensive and quick, he noted that cross-border transfers are still expensive.

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