RBI can’t give definite timeline for launch of Digital Rupee, says Shaktikanta Das

Das however added that the central bank cannot give a definite timeline as to when Digital Rupee will be released while cautioning investors that such assets have no underlying whatsoever, not even a tulip.

New Delhi: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, announcing the Monetary Policy outcome on Thursday said that the RBI Digital Rupee will be launched in the year 2022-23.

He however added that the central bank cannot give a definite timeline as to when Digital Rupee will be released while cautioning investors that such assets have no underlying whatsoever, not even a tulip.

"We can’t predict a timeline for its release yet. There'll be no difference between Digital Rupee and the normal rupee. Cryptocurrency is privately created and it is a threat to financial stability," Das said.

Private cryptocurrencies or whatever name you call it are a threat to our macroeconomic stability and financial stability. They will undermine the RBI's ability to deal with issues of financial stability and macroeconomic stability, Das told reporters. He added that it is his duty to caution investors, and told them to keep in mind that they are investing at their own risk.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech last week talked about launching a central bank-backed 'digital rupee' soon. The digital rupee blockchain, being developed by the Reserve Bank, would be able to trace all transactions, unlike the current system of mobile wallet offered by private companies.

The exact regulation governing this Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is yet to be finalised.

CBDC is a digital or virtual currency but it is not comparable to the private virtual currencies or cryptocurrency that have mushroomed over the last decade. Private virtual currencies do not represent any person's debt or liabilities as there is no issuer.