SNEAK PEEK
- RBI will launch the pilot digital rupee (e-rupee) on Nov 1.
- 9 top-tier banks to participate in the digital rupee project.
- Aimed to launch in opposition to cryptocurrency.
On 1st November, RBI is planning to launch digital rupee for Indian central bank, the central-bank-backed, for the wholesale segment. Nine banks including SBI are said to be participating in this one-of-a-kind project. They will roll out the pilot digital currency though.
As per a statement from RBI, the aim is to make inter-banking operations efficient using the e-rupee. This central bank digital currency will be employed to settle secondary market transactions in government securities, which would further reduce the transaction costs as per RBI.
Banks such as HSBC, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, IDFC First Bank and Yes Bank will also be participating besides State Bank of India.
The RBI further brought to notice that their launch of the e-rupee for the retail segment will also take place within a month in some specific locations.
It has been some time since RBI has been exploring the advantages and disadvantages associated with central bank digital currency. And now, they come up with a strategy to implement it in a gradual manner.
The central bank is rolling out the currency in digital form in opposition to cryptocurrencies. However, it is quite unclear how fruitful that approach would be as the whole is taken by storm at the moment by cryptocurrencies.
How long could they hold out cryptocurrencies, only time will tell.
