RBI mulls pilot project for its digital currency; Will CDBC create an enigma for stable coins?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that the central bank will launch its digital currency as a pilot project this year. Addressing the India Ideas Summit, Sankar said that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is the most efficient system for cross-border payments. Though, it reiterated that RBI aims to give viable alternatives and not going for a cashless society. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the launch of CBDC during her union budget speech, which was tabled earlier this year. Pratik Gauri, Co-founder & CEO, 5ire said that as cautious as the government has been about both VAs and digital currency, it is a novel step to be taken by a central bank.

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«It must be noted that this comes at the heels of 'deliberation over the regulation of cryptocurrency' and the earlier voiced 'serious concerns' around private cryptocurrencies on the grounds that these may cause financial instability,» he added. According to some media reports, the RBI is in discussions with fintech firms and four public sector banks to trial the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project, with a potential launch slated for later in 2022. Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) is reported to be among one of these firms. FIS gives banks central infrastructure payment solutions to develop real-time payments systems as well as a CBDC Virtual Lab to help nations trial CBDC initiatives. Gauri, who lauded RBI's approach to reach of FIS for consulation, is skeptical if RBI would launch a decentralized system operating the CDBC. RBI's governor Shaktikanta Das has