India will launch a digital currency starting 2022-23, announced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech 2022 on February 1. The RBI will introduce the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in 2023.
- A CBDC is the legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form. It is the same as a fiat currency and is exchangeable one-to-one with the fiat currency.
CBDC in World
- According to Atlantic Council, 9 countries have now fully launched a digital currency. Nigeria is the latest country to launch a CBDC, the e-Naira, the first outside the Caribbean.
- e-Naira: Nigeria launched its digital currency e-Naira in October 2021. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, 500 million eNaira ($1.21 million) had already been minted. Currently only bank account holders can access the e-Naira by signing up with Nigeria’s BVN bank identity.
- Project Aber: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia launched a bilateral CBDC pilot project called Project Aber in 2019. In February 2021, the UAE joined China, Hong Kong, and Thailand in a joint CBDC cross-border test.
- Project Dunbar: Project Dunbar – a partnership between South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia for cross border digital payment tests.
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