INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The RBI has repeatedly raised concerns over cryptocurrencies.Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India's digital currency may see its pilot launch
in the first quarter of the next fiscal year, a senior central bank officer said at the State Bank of India's Banking and Economic
Conclave as reported by a newspaper."I think somewhere it was said that at least by the first quarter of next year a pilot could be launched
So we are bullish on that," the Business Standard newspaper quoted P
Vasudevan, chief general manager at the Department of Payment - Settlement of the RBI as having said.Central bank digital currencies, or
(CBDCs) are digital or virtual currencies are basically the digital version of fiat currencies, for India that would be its domestic
currency rupee.Previously, the central bank governor had said a soft launch of the CBDC could be expected by December but there has been no
official timeline committed to by the RBI."We are on the job and we are looking into the various issues and nuances related to CBDC
It's not a simple thing to just say that CBDC can be a habit from tomorrow on," Vasudevan said, adding that a CBDC could have a useful
role depending on how it is implemented and there should be no hurry to launch it.Vasudevan said the RBI was examining various issues
related to which segment the CBDC should target - wholesale or retail, the validation mechanism and also other issues including distribution
channels."The central bank is also checking if intermediaries can be bypassed altogether, and most importantly, checking if the technology
should be decentralized or should be semi-centralised," the RBI CGM said.The RBI has repeatedly raised concerns over cryptocurrencies posing
macro-economic and financial stability risks.(This story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a
