Do we really need the e-rupee?

Despite rapid digitalisation, the use of cash has not diminished in India. Yet the adoption of the e-rupee is not a question of if, but when

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a concept note on an Indian central bank digital currency, or CBDC, that attempts to address current concerns about this new form of money. The note makes a number of arguments justifying the adoption of the e-rupee, the name that has been chosen for the Indian CBDC by an internal Working Group of the RBI. How strong are these arguments?

For any reasonable assessment of this issue, it is important to keep in mind the context within which this new form of money is going to be released in India. In particular,