e-Rupee or IndiaBit : a Rose by Any Other Name ?

 

Context :

How will RBI's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) work, how is it different from digital money?(ET / 07 Oct )

Extract :

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 7, 2022 released a concept note on the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

 

RBI will soon start the pilot launch of the digital rupee for specific use cases.

WHAT IS DIGITAL RUPEE?

The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) can be defined as the legal tender

issued by the Reserve Bank of India

 

Touted as Digital Rupee or e-Rupee, RBI's CBDC is the same as a sovereign

currency and is exchangeable one-to-one at par with the fiat currency

 

 

FEATURES OF DIGITAL RUPEE

>  CBDC is a sovereign currency issued by central bank

>  It must be accepted as a medium of payment, legal tender, and a safe store of

    value by all citizens, enterprises, and government agencies.

    
>  CBDC is  “ freely convertible  “  against commercial bank money and cash.

>  CBDC is a fungible legal tender for which holders need not have a bank

    account.

TYPES OF CBDC THAT COULD BE INTRODUCED

The Central Bank Digital Currency can be classified into two types :

 

Ø  General purpose or Retail (CBDC-R)

 

      Retail CBDC can be used by all including the private sector, non-financial

      consumers, and businesses.

 

      

 

Ø  Wholesale (CBDC-W).

 

      Wholesale CBDC is designed for restricted access to select financial

       institutions.

WHY IS RBI INTRODUCING CBDC ?

CBDC is aimed to complement, rather than replace, current forms of money

and is envisaged to provide an additional payment avenue to users, not to replace

the existing payment systems

 

DIGITAL RUPEE VS CRYPTOCURRENCY

RBI also expressed concern about the popularity of crypto-currency in recent years.

#    The proliferation of crypto assets can pose significant risks related to money

       laundering and financing of  terrorism.

 

  #   Further, developing CBDC could provide the public with a risk-free virtual

       currency that will provide them with legitimate benefits without the risks of

       dealing in private virtual currencies.

    

#   It may, therefore, fulfill the demand for secured digital currency besides

      protecting the public from the abnormal level of volatility that some of these

      virtual digital assets experience

    

#   Thus, safeguarding the trust of the common man in the Indian Rupee vis-à-

      vis proliferation of crypto  assets

    

     

    

Thank You , Shri Shaktikant Dasji :

 

 

For considering some of the suggestions made in the following e-mail. I urge you

to also consider the rest  :  

Ø  Crypto : Corruption : Corona : China ……………..[ 17 June 2020 ]

 

Extract :

 

Here is a brief ( non-comprehensive ) suggestion for proposed Law :

 

Ø    While banning Private Crypto, introduce  IndiaBit  ( Govt  Virtual  Currency )

Ø    With some effective date , withdraw all Paper Currency ( forget coins )

 

Ø    Minimum denomination will still be called a RUPEE ( easy to convert from paper

      to digital )

 

Ø    As of a date , bank balances in everyone’s bank account gets converted

      to IndiaBits

 

Ø    Set time limit within which people can deposit their paper currency into banks for

      instant conversion into IndiaBits

 

Ø  After set date, paper currencies held by anyone ( individual or any legal entity

   such as a Company ), loses all value and become illegal for any sell / purchase

   transaction

 

Ø  All future financial transactions ( sell / buy of any goods or services ) can

    only be through mobile-app based DIGITAL transactions

 

  

Ø  Since all transactions will become DIGITAL , Govt would have full / life-

    time LOG of each citizen’s “Sale or Purchase “

  [ Who bought What , When , from Whom , at What price , Where etc ] .

 

Ø    Here is why automatic compilation of such CONSUMPTION DATA for the entire

      economy, will be a GAME CHANGER :  Economic data will help policy

 

      

 

               

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  09  Oct  2022

 

 

RELATED  READINGS :

 

 

In the Eyes of the Beholder ? ………………………………………[ 06 Aug 2017 ]

Virtual Currency ? Time to get Real  …………………………….[ 17 Aug 2017 ]

One  More  Reason ………………………………………………………..[ 22 Nov 2017 ]

What is holding back ?  ………………………………………………….[ 06 Dec 2017 ]

Bursting Bitcoin Bubble ? ……………………………………………….[ 10 Dec 2017 ]

Bitcoin : Illegal in India  …………………………………………………[ 02 Jan 2018 ]

LIBRA : The coming battle of Currencies ?  …………………[ 29 June 2019 ]

LIBRA : Am I the only one worried ?  …………………………..[ 05 July 2019 ]

Who is afraid of the Big Bad Wolf ( aka LIBRA ) ?........ [ 07 July 2019 ]

Latest word on LIBRA : though not the last word………….[ 10 July 2019]

Will China Reign Supreme ?   …………………………………………..[ 15 Oct 2019 ]

Elephant Bonds vs Dragon Bonds …………………………………….[ 04 Nov 2019 ]

 

Time to Un-Block the Blockchain Technology  …………………..[ 30 Jan 2020 ]

 

With a law, India plans lasting ban on cryptos  ………………….[ 12 June 2020 ]

 

Thank You, Smt Sitharamanji ………………………….[ 30 Nov 2021 ]

 

Crypto Rupee : Elephant in the Room ?........... [ 02 Feb 2022 ]

 

CBDC : Slow and Steady ………………………………….[ 25 July 2022 ]

 

Comparing apples to oranges: Indian crypto companies criticise RBI's concept note on CBDCs [ET / 09 Oct 22 ]

 

Private crypto coins undermine financial stability : RBI note   /   TOI    /    09  Oct  2022 

 

===================================================

RBI’s concept paper seeks offline feature in e-rupee  /   TNN   /  08 Oct. 22

 

Extract :

 

Reserve Bank of India, in a concept paper on the digital currency  said that it is desirable  to have an offline feature. This, it said, would enable the central bank digital currency ( CBDC ) to work in paces without a telecom network or even electricity

 

The Central Bank said, that the offline feature would also help to create DIGITAL FOOTPRINT of the “ Unbanked “ population in the financial system, facilitating easy credit availability

 

CBDC have the possibility for PROGRAMMING the money by tying the end use. For example, agriculture credit by banks can be programmed to ensure that it is used ONLY at the INPUT STORE outlets

 

The note added that the CBDC could also be used for real-time cross-border transactions

 

On the issue of ANONYMITY , the Concept Paper calls for a design that will erase all trails of LOW VALUE transactions

 

The digital rupee ( e-rupee ) system will further bolster India’s digital economy, make the monetary and payment systems more efficient and contribute to furthering financial inclusion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, e-Parliament is arriving

 

 

 

Context :

New Parliament may help MPs work remotely with tech upgrades    /   HT   /  08  Oct  2022

Extract :

Ø  The new “smart” Parliament building, being constructed under the Central Vista redevelopment plan, is set to leverage artificial intelligence with a number of technological upgrades and tablet computers for every lawmaker under the Digital Sansad Project, officials familiar with the matter said on Friday.

    The project will upgrade Parliamentary access for MPs and citizens.

Ø  Parliament is working on systems that are “device-agnostic” and will facilitate the concept of “ Work from Anywhere ( WAW )”, the note said.

Ø  “It would also require the development of an integrated platform and database to bring all stakeholders – Members of Parliament, Committees, Legislative Parties, Citizens, Secretariat and various Government Ministries/ Departments — on a unified digital platform

Ø  Among several upcoming projects is a single portal for Parliament that will provide quicker information and faster access to archives.

Ø  The idea is that during the proceedings of the House, whatever an MP requires to deliver a speech, search precedents or get quick background notes on the subject, everything will be available on the site. And he can access that on the tablet computer at his seat

Ø  Other projects include the creation of a digital sansad app and live streaming of all proceedings.

Ø  It will make it easier for MPs to perform their duties and also make Parliament accessible to common people

Ø  The government is also considering building a system to allow parliamentarians to vote remotely, while ensuring the security and integrity of the vote, the first official said.

Ø  There will be an artificial intelligence-based speech to text conversion engine to create a transcript of Parliament proceedings in real-time.

Ø  Automatic indexing and tagging of audio-video files is also being explored for better searchability. The video tagging would enable a user to search (with timestamp) a video based on any specific word or phrase that appears in the video, according to the note.

Ø  An interactive mobile application is in the works as well. MPs will be able to access confidential files, schedule meetings, check Parliament schedules, legislative bills, and even newspapers on the application.

Ø  Birla has asked for a virtual tour of the old and new Parliament building for common people, with additional interactive features such as quizzes, photo filters, and the option to wish your MP on his/her birthday.

Ø  Overtime, the application is also slated to cover legislative assemblies.

Ø  “Under this project, Digital Sansad App is poised to be a National Grid where the app will enable access not only to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha but also to all state legislative assemblies in a phased manner,” the note said.

 

 

My Take :

 

Ø  LS Speaker Om Birla would like this ……………………………………[ 29 July 2022 ]

 

Extract :

There is only one solution to put a permanent end to this tamasha :

No more parliament session which is physical

All sessions to be “ virtual video sessions “ in which :

Members to participate online from their homes

Speaker has Admin Control, to turn off the video / audio of any rowdy / shouting

member or of a member who exceeds more than 3 minutes of speaking

To be able to " speak " , a member will need to fill in an Online Form on Sansad

Portal, requesting permission to speak, clearly selecting ( from appropriate drop

lists ),

- which session

- which subject / topic

 

Based on this, Speaker will confirm or deny permission ( this will get displayed on

the Portal )

Or the Speaker may email the concerned Member to just “ Record “ his / her

speech ( audio ) on the Sansad Portal , which ( assuming permission was granted ),

will get PODCAST at the allotted time-slot

Any citizen should be able to login , into any session as a Mute Spectator, by

entering his / her Aadhar ID

Next ?

Projecting entire Virtual Proceedings as a 3D volumetric Hologram on a Smart

phone, using technology developed by IKININC

https://ikininc.com/products/ryz-3d-hologram-technology/  

All of this “ Virtual Loksabha “ platform development could be done in less than 3

months and at a cost of less than Rs 50 crore

This is one time cost

Now consider the SAVINGS

Let us assume that , in a year Parliament meets for 100 days ( all sessions put together )

 Each session is for 8 hours

That translates into 800 work-hours / year

Recent press releases put the cost at Rs 1.5 crore / hour

Hence implementing my suggestion would save the country Rs 1,200 crore / year

==================================================

Related Readings :

Ø  Virtual Legislatures ?“ Not Quite There “ but “ Getting Close “[21 Aug 2022 ]

 

Extract :

Since my 29 July e-mail to Shri Om Birla, I felt the need to “ incentivize “ our

legislators to stop travelling to Delhi and, instead adopt WFH ( Work From Home

)

I suggest that for each day of Legislature Session attended ONLINE from home,

members are given following additional reimbursements ( of course, tax-free ) :

                Ø  WFH reimbursement …………………………. Rs 5,000 / day

                Ø  Study-room Refurbishment …………………Rs 5,000 / day

                                                      A total of Rs 10,000 / day

 

Let us say , we have a combined strength of 800 ( 540 in LS + 260 in RS ) members

Hence these reimbursements will add up to : Rs 10,000 x 800 = 8,000,000 ( Rs 80 lakhs / day )

For a total of 100 days ( of all sessions ) in a year, this would cost the Govt ., Rs 8,000 Lakhs / year ( Rs 80 crore )

This is still a pea-nut amount , considering an annual saving of Rs 1200 Crore !

 

Dance of Democracy ?....................... ………..[ 30 Dec 2017 ]

Candidates / Spouses / Kids : Assets ?........  [ 16 Feb 2018 ]

Artificial Intelligence to fix MP / MLA Salary ? [ 22 Feb 2018 ]

People’s Pulse ? People’s Confusion ?........... [ 12 July 2018 ]

Citizen’s Charter of Demand ………………………….[ 29 Oct 2018 ]

VotersWill ……………………………………………………….[ 03 Nov 2018 ]

 

 =============================================

Virtual Parliament : a COVID bye-product ? …………[ 03 June 2020 ]

Extract :

            Ø  Online broadcast of Virtual Session through a Mobile App ( LokRaj ?  )

            Ø  Receive Questions / Answers / Notices , online ( as being done already )

            Ø  Decide ( and control ),  WHO will speak , WHEN and for HOW LONG .

            Ø  Display these “ Speaking Schedules “ on the Mobile App with a provision

               for the viewers to cast their “ Ratings “ online / instantly , as each

               speaker delivers his / her speech

               

                Dynamically display “ No of Raters “ and “ Rating Score ( 1 to 5 ) “ . 

               Such an “ Instant Feedback “ will dramatically improve , not only the

               behavior of each Member of Parliament, but also improve the “ Relevance “

               of his talk !

            

          Ø  Turn-off the member’s mike if he refuses to stop or starts shouting /

              abusing

          Ø  No question of anyone speaking “ out of turn “ or rushing to the well of

              the house !

          Ø  Bar unruly members from attending a VIRTUAL SESSION

          Ø  Display ( as in case of Augmented Reality – AR ), following record of an MP

              as he is speaking :

          

                    #   Attendance percentage  /  Punctuality

                    #   No of questions asked

                    #   Number of minutes spoken during the session

 

         Ø  Just before the voting starts on any Bill , enable the Members of Parliament

             to receive “ Instructions  “ ( really , feedback from citizen who voted for   

             him / her ), as to how voters want him to vote ( “for “ or “against “ the

             bill  as outlined at :

                       VotersWill  ………………………………….[  03  Nov  2018  ]

 ==================================================== 

   

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  08  Oct  2022