No plans to introduce cryptocurrency: Govt

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

India, he said in a written reply. «RBI does not issue a cryptocurrency. Traditional paper currency is a legal tender and is issued by RBI in terms of provisions of RBI Act, 1994. A digital version of traditional paper currency is called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC),» he said. RBI is currently working towards a phased implementation strategy for the introduction of CBDC and examining use cases that could be implemented with little or no disruption, he said in another reply.

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The introduction of CBDC has the potential to provide significant benefits such as reduced dependency on cash, higher seigniorage due to lower transaction costs, etc, he added. Printing of notes have declined over a period of time, he said, adding, during 2019-20 notes worth Rs 4,378 crore were printed which came down to Rs 4,012 crore in 2020-21. Replying to another question, he said, financial health of the country includes many facets. «Stable stock market along with well-functioning and sophisticated market infrastructure is one indicator to assess a country's financial health. The stock markets are indicative of economic growth in the medium to long term as the stock prices reflect the market's expectation on future corporate earnings/profitability and hence the underlying confidence in economy,» he said. However, he said, in the short run, the stock markets are mostly driven by the economic and geopolitical events. Exchanges levy exchange transaction fees upon the broker which may be passed down to clients, he said, adding, the transaction fee is mentioned in the contract note issued to client by the broker.