India to have its own digital currency soon

India's will have its own digital currency soon in the current financial year 2022-23 (April to March), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today.

Presenting her fourth consecutive annual budget in Lok Sabha, she said the digital currency will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2022-23 and it would give a big boost to the economy.

The RBI had said in July last year that it was working towards its own digital currency.

Calling it Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar had said it would be the same as a fiat currency and exchangeable one-to-one with the fiat currency.

Sitharaman also said India would hold 5G spectrum auctions this year.