Rupee gymnastics.

"India's first digital rupee pilot project has been rolled out by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Digital rupee will be used for issuing virtual currency for transactions in government securities." Zee. "The money will be in virtual form just like other cryptocurrencies but the digital rupee will not be decentralised, it will be regulated by the RBI." "It is substantially not different from banknotes, but being digital it is likely to be easier, faster and cheaper." "India's banks reported 248 data breaches by hackers and miscreants by June 2018 and March 2022, the government informed Parliament." moneycontrol. In October, "BNB Chain, a blockchain linked to the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, disclosed an exploit on a cross-chain bridge that drained around $100 million in digital assets." The Hacker News. "Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, in August, estimated that $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency had been stolen in 13 cross-chain bridge attacks, accounting for 69% of total funds stolen in 2022." Will the RBI guarantee against any cyber attack? If not, it is just to save money in printing banknotes and for surveillance. "In July, the RBI permitted international trade to be invoiced, denominated and settled in Indian Rupee. Market forces would determine the rate of exchange of trade." WION. Who will insure against any devaluation of the rupee? Internationalisation would save costs of holding foreign exchange reserves, will protect against external shocks, will mitigate currency risk for Indian business and "the bargaining power of Indian business would improve adding weight to the Indian economy, enhancing India's global stature and respect", said Deputy Governor of RBI T Rabi Sankar. ET. However, such a move is not devoid of 'real risks'. If a foreign company transacts in Indian rupees will it become a victim of India's ferociously punitive tax laws? If a rupee transaction has to go through the RBI, will it apply Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) laws or the Withholding Tax laws, forcing the foreign company to keep begging for a refund for months? "The RBI is working closely with the government to enable international settlement of government securities and incorporation of rupee-denominated bonds in Global bond indices." WION. However, "India has ruled out any changes to tax policies that will make it easier for the nation's bonds to be included in global indices, according to people familiar with the matter." ET. India had foreign direct investment (FDI) of $83.5 billion in 2021-22, "However, as of October 2022, none of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies have chosen to locate their Asia-Pacific headquarters in the country," wrote Palakh Jain & Shreya Ganguly. "In particular, India stands to gain from liberalizing stringent income tax laws for foreign nationals." India is probably the only country in the world which forces citizens to link income tax payments with its biometric Aadhar card. cleartax.in. Why should foreigners want to be treated like criminals? Internationalisation needs international courtesy. For foreigners and for citizens. Not rupee gymnastics.