Priya Patel
TLDR: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that the Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are actively engaged in improving the central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border payments. The RBI has already launched a pilot for the retail version of the CBDC, known as the e-rupee, which is in the form of a digital token representing legal tender.
The e-rupee is being issued in denominations equivalent to paper currency and coins, and is distributed through banks. Users can transact with the e-rupee through a digital wallet provided by participating banks. Sitharaman believes that the CBDC will improve transparency and traceability in payments, speed up transactions, and reduce costs for inward and outward remittances.
The government has also identified priority sectors for development, including manufacturing and agriculture. In agriculture, the focus will be on modernizing post-harvest practices, while in manufacturing, the government has identified 13 key sectors such as renewable energy, semiconductor, machine learning, and space.
