Overview

• Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in Doha that India will soon roll out a digital rupee guaranteed by the Reserve Bank of India and designed as traditional money in electronic form.
• He said the system will leverage blockchain to speed up transactions, enable end‑to‑end traceability, and cut reliance on paper currency.
• The government reiterated it does not encourage cryptocurrencies lacking sovereign or asset backing and continues to impose a 30% tax on gains and a 1% TDS on transactions.
• India has not banned private crypto, with Goyal noting that people may trade at their own risk without government support if losses occur.
• RBI wholesale and retail pilots have run since 2022 with CBDC circulation reported at about Rs 1,016 crore by March 2025, and experts say the stance may favor regulated, asset‑backed tokens while slowing private crypto innovation.