Govt in talks with South Asian countries for cross-border rupee trade

The Reserve bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that the government and the central bank are in discussions with South Asian countries to have cross-border trade in rupee.

While speaking at the launch of IMF’s new book ‘South Asia’s Path to Resilient Growth’, the governor said with global trade outlook for 2022-23 overcast, greater intra-regional trade in the South Asian region can enhance opportunities for growth and employment, he added.

The Governor drafted six policy priorities before the South Asian region to deal with critical challenges arising due to Covid, inflation, financial market tightening and the Russia-Ukraine war. He also talked about the central bank digital currency (CBDC), saying that it is in trial phase and the RBI is moving very carefully and cautiously on digital rupee launch.

“At the central bank level a key dimension for cooperation has been learning from each other on common goals and challenges… Rupee settlement of cross-border trade and CBDC, where the RBI has already started moving forward, can also be areas of greater cooperation in future,” he added.