FM Sitharaman Urges RBI To Strengthen Digital Rupee Platform

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to strengthen its capabilities around the digital rupee and accelerate progress on both wholesale and retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). She made the remarks while addressing the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 in Mumbai on Friday, September 11.

Sitharaman said the central bank needs to further develop its capabilities related to the digital rupee, signalling the government's continued focus on expanding India's digital financial infrastructure. She called for greater progress in both wholesale and retail CBDCs as India explores the wider potential of digital currencies within its financial system.

The seventh edition of the Global Fintech Fest was held in Mumbai from September 8 to 11. The 2026 edition was organised around the theme “Potential to Impact: Agentic AI, Tokenisation, Quantum – Trusted, Connected, Global Systems for Inclusive Finance,” bringing together discussions on emerging technologies and their role in shaping financial systems.

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Addressing the broader impact of artificial intelligence, Sitharaman described AI as a double-edged sword, noting that the technology can be used both to detect fraud and to perpetrate it. Her comments highlighted the need for financial institutions and digital platforms to strengthen safeguards as the adoption of advanced technologies expands.

The Finance Minister also highlighted India's economic and technological progress, pointing to the country's digital public infrastructure and the widespread use of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). She said India's ability to process billions of transactions through UPI reflects the scale of its digital transformation and financial inclusion efforts.

Sitharaman further said India is experiencing its demographic dividend in real time, while highlighting developments across areas including digital infrastructure, economic growth and space exploration. Her remarks at the fintech gathering underscored the government's emphasis on emerging technologies, digital finance and the need to build trusted systems capable of supporting India's growing economy.

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