1 hr ago
Sitharaman Urges RBI to Strengthen Digital Rupee Amid Tokenisation
India’s finance minister wants the country’s digital rupee to become stronger and more useful.
The digital rupee is a form of money issued by the central bank.
She said it helped complete a trial involving a tokenised corporate bond.
In that trial, the bond and its payment moved at the same time.
New technology could make financial transactions faster and reduce the need for some middlemen.
However, mistakes, fraud and financial problems could also spread faster.
She warned that artificial intelligence can help find criminals but can also help attackers conduct bigger cyberattacks.
She also suggested creating a joint platform to help Indian technology companies work with foreign regulators.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged the Reserve Bank of India to advance its wholesale and retail digital rupee pilots.
She said India’s first tokenised corporate bond pilot showed how CBDC can settle an asset and its payment simultaneously.
Sitharaman warned that faster tokenised transactions could also accelerate errors, fraud and market shocks.
She called for stronger cybersecurity safeguards as agentic AI and quantum computing develop rapidly.
She proposed a federated industry platform to represent India’s technology sector and help companies navigate international regulations.
- Who
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and India’s technology industry.
- What
- Sitharaman urged the RBI to advance digital rupee capabilities and proposed stronger coordination and safeguards for emerging financial technologies.
- Where
- Mumbai, India.
- When
- Friday, during the Global Fintech Fest 2026.
- Why
- To support tokenisation and faster settlements while addressing cybersecurity, systemic risks and international regulatory challenges.
Innovation and efficiency
Risk controls and safeguards
Faster financial transactions
Innovation and efficiency
Tokenisation and CBDC settlement could reduce unnecessary intermediaries and make asset transfers almost instantaneous.
Risk controls and safeguards
Greater speed could allow errors, fraud and market shocks to spread at the same pace.
Artificial intelligence
Innovation and efficiency
AI can help identify fraudsters and detect fraud more quickly.
Risk controls and safeguards
AI can also enable attackers to automate larger and more sophisticated cyberattacks, while controls may not be keeping up.
Industry coordination
Innovation and efficiency
A federated technology platform could give Indian companies a credible collective voice and help them engage foreign regulators.
Risk controls and safeguards
The platform would need to support safeguards, data protection, cybersecurity and interoperable standards as emerging technologies develop.
Key facts
- Digital rupee
- Sitharaman urged the RBI to further develop its wholesale and retail central bank digital currency pilots.
- Tokenised bond pilot
- REC completed India’s first tokenised corporate bond pilot under the SEBI regulatory sandbox.
- Settlement
- The bond and digital rupee moved simultaneously, allowing the transaction to close on the payment day.
- Technology risks
- Sitharaman identified cybersecurity, agentic AI and quantum computing as areas requiring attention.
- AI warning
- She said AI can detect fraud but can also automate larger and more sophisticated cyberattacks.
- Industry platform
- She proposed a federated platform to give India’s technology ecosystem a collective international voice.
- International role
- The proposed platform could help companies understand licensing rules, share cybersecurity practices and support interoperable standards.
Quotes
Nirmala Sitharaman
India's Finance Minister
“I urge the RBI to further advance and also develop what it has initiated through both the wholesale and retail CBDC pilots. Sensing the momentum in this fall and across global markets, the RBI needs to continue to sharpen its capabilities with the digital rupee”
deccanchronicle.com
“AI acts as a double-edged sword. It helps spot fraudsters and fraud faster, but it also allows attackers to automate larger, more sophisticated cyber attacks.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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