India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has stated that the country is not opposed to blockchain technology, but believes that currencies must be monitored by either the government or the central bank. The Reserve Bank of India has launched pilot trials for retail and wholesale central bank digital currencies in an effort to improve cross-border and bulk payments. India is also seeking a global consensus on the regulation of crypto assets and plans to introduce cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence topics into certain school curriculums from the next academic year. The country has taken a cautious approach to digital assets, having imposed a 30% flat tax on crypto income and a 1% tax deducted at source on crypto trades above INR10,000 ($122).