India to launch RBI-backed digital rupee amid crypto crackdown

India will introduce a digital currency backed by the Reserve Bank of India, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday in Doha, where he led a business delegation to deepen trade and investment ties with Qatar. Goyal said the central bank guaranteed currency is intended to make transactions faster, reduce paper use and provide traceability compared with traditional banking, while the government will continue to discourage privately issued cryptocurrencies that lack sovereign or asset backing.

Goyal said India does not promote cryptocurrencies that are not backed by a central authority or assets, but stopped short of an outright ban. "As far as cryptocurrency which is not backed by the Central Government is concerned, while there is no ban as such, we are taxing it very heavily," he said, adding that the planned digital rupee would be backed by an RBI guarantee and designed to be traceable. The minister discussed the digital currency during talks in Doha and at meetings with his Qatari counterpart as both countries seek to fasttrack free trade agreement negotiations.

The government has already put in place a strict tax regime for virtual digital assets. Income from...