(Image source from: india.com)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) already announced about introducing digital currency into the Indian market very soon and the efforts for its own Central Bank digital currency (CBDC) are on from some time. T Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India announced that the model of CBDC will be launched in December 2021. RBI is currently evaluating the scope and technology along with the validation and distribution of the mechanism of digital currency. T Rabi Sankar also revealed about the business choices along with the technology involved. T Rabi Sankar said that the CBDC rollout will happen in a phased manner.

The pilot program for the digital currency in the segments of retail and wholesale will commence very shortly. Top nation China has been exploring the plans to implement CBDC since 2014 and the country said that it is in the most advanced stage of development. A Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) system was developed by China and it took more than two years. The project is currently in the trial phase. In April this year, the People's Bank of China gave its nod to conduct hypothetical use of the digital currency in some of the regions. The Indian officials say that the digital currency model will be introduced by the end of this year.

Experts say that it would take a long time for the actual launch of the digital currency. RBI is keen and confident in CBDC when compared to the virtual currencies. Experts also say that it would be a rushed job if introduced in December this year as India is in the initial stages of adopting the new financial system.

By Siva Kumar