What India wants to do with the central digital currency

by Giuseppe Gagliano

India's moves on the digital rupee. The article by Giuseppe Gagliano

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for a digital rupee on Tuesday. Indeed New Delhi has shared plans for a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) joins the People's Bank of China (PBOC) in part because the global money trajectory requires it. The Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are also moving towards a digital currency. In fact, India needs an e-rupee more than most economies need a digital currency for several reasons: tackling corruption; giving the RBI great economic traction; keeping pace with China's rapidly growing financial influence. When Modi's premiership began in May 2014, he inherited 85th place on Transparency International's corruption index. India's vote is still 85th, which means zero progress during his term. With the introduction of an e-rupee, the opacity and anonymity that scammers, tax fraudsters and terrorists use to do their best would essentially disappear. Sitharaman's announcement did not come out of nowhere. In February 2021, the Indian parliament introduced a bill to "create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency".