India's digital rupee would be exchangeable against cash: PM Modi

New Delhi: Following the announcement of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the Union Budget 2022 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday threw more light on the topic in his address to the nation.

PM Modi said that the digital currency will boost the digital economy in the year to come, adding that the RBI-backed CBDC will be controlled and monitored by the central bank and will be a digital avatar of India's fiat currency.

India's move to launch CBDC is in tandem with other global peers, who are planning similar moves soon.


The PM hinted that the RBI's digital currency will be a legal tender, being a revamped version of the physical currency. Modi said people could convert digital currency to physical currency and vice-versa with ease, which will strengthen India's digital economy and ecosystem.

The digital payments and online transfer of funds will be more safe, secure and risk-free with the launch of CBDC, Modi said. He added that this will also streamline the global digital payment system.

"Digital Rupee will revolutionize the fintech spectrum and solve the multiple challenges of printing, management and logistics of the physical currency."

The FM on Tuesday announced taxation on gains arising from the sale of private virtual assets at a flat rate of 30 per cent, with no exemption or deduction given to the investor. Gifting of such assets would be taxed at the hands of the recipient, she said.