India is planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a phased manner, TechCrunch reports, citing T Rabi Sankar, the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India. The CBDC is expected to lower India's reliance on cash, and enable cheaper and smoother international settlements, he added.
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"Every idea has to wait for its time, and the time for CBDC is near. We have carefully evaluated the risks," Sankar added.
He also believes that CBDC will be in the"arsenal of most if not all central banks" as the world's economy is moving toward digitization. India's hurry to issue its own CBDC comes amid regulatory uncertainty on the local cryptocurrency market.
As iHodl earlier reported, India might soon require overseas cryptocurrency exchanges to pay 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST). The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs is trying yo figure out whether overseas cryptocurrency exchanges should be obliged to pay GST if they have clients from India.
However, the domestic cryptocurrency exchanges still do not know if they should pay GST either. The experts say the exchanges still do not know the rate and the amount on which it is to be paid.
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