RBI’s concept note on Indian CBDC

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a concept note on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), referred to as Digital Rupee, in India. The Government of India announced the launch of the Digital Rupee from the financial year 2022-23 in its last budget and consequently the RBI constituted an internal high-level Committee to study various aspects of CBDC. Based on the deliberations of the committee, the RBI has issued this concept note which broadly captures benefits, motivation, design features, technology choices, privacy aspects, and risks associated with CBDC in India.

Though the concept note only identifies and highlights important aspects of CBDCs which must be understood, deliberated and decided, it also subtly conveys the policy stand that the RBI is likely to take on some of the issues discussed in the note.