The Reserve Bank of India officially launched the digital rupee on Tuesday. At the first stage, it is available to a limited number of banks for transactions with government securities in the secondary market, writes the Indian business publication Business Standard.
According to the Reserve Bank of India, the digital rupee will be tested for retail use in various places within a month. At the same time, the regulator intends to intensify the fight against private digital currencies. In particular, this year a new tax regime has been introduced in India, which makes the work of crypto exchanges and the circulation of cryptocurrencies unattractive.
“Central Bank e-currencies will provide users with a digital currency experience without any of the risks associated with private cryptocurrencies. These currencies will also provide consumer protection while avoiding the devastating social and economic impacts of private virtual currencies,” the Reserve Bank of India said in a comment.
The pilot project involves the State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank and India’s HSBC Holdings Plc. On the first day of the project, the nine banks participating in the project made 24 transactions worth 1.4 billion rupees in bonds of several issues.