FM Sitharaman gives digital rupee pilots a nudge

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called on the Reserve Bank of India to accelerate its digital rupee pilots, both wholesale and retail, during her address at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai. Sitharaman emphasized the need to strengthen the digital rupee's capabilities and highlighted the successful pilot of a tokenized corporate bond by REC Ltd, which operated alongside the digital rupee for instantaneous settlement.

The finance minister urged a balanced approach to regulating emerging technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), warning of both the potential for fraud and the risk of amplified systemic risks due to errors and cyber-attacks. Sitharaman advocated for responsible AI adoption, with responsibility shared among technology teams, boards, senior management, and regulators.

She stressed the importance of maintaining human oversight for AI decisions and implementing stronger review, explanation, and appeal mechanisms for higher-risk applications. Sitharaman also advocated for greater coordination among financial regulators, competition authorities, data protection authorities, and cybersecurity agencies to prevent regulatory gaps.

Lastly, she encouraged greater self-regulation by fintech and technology firms operating beyond traditional regulatory boundaries and proposed a federated industry platform to help Indian technology companies navigate complex global regulations.