India money-form classification

Start with legal function: sovereign e₹, RBI-authorised payment value, security-like rights, or VDA treatment.

Money-form decision tree

Classification turns first on sovereign money / authorised payment value, then on security analysis, then on VDA coverage. Payment or FX use still returns to RBI / FEMA.

Classification logic

India classification logic starts with legal function, not market label. Sovereign digital currency sits with the RBI Act and the e₹ FAQ. Authorised payment value sits with the PSS Act and PPI framework. Security-like rights route into SCRA, the Depositories Act, and the SEBI stack. Non-security crypto first becomes visible through FIU and tax treatment.

Stablecoins do not receive a separate domestic Indian money-form chapter in the reviewed public materials. A foreign stablecoin can still be a VDA for tax and AML purposes, but that does not make it an authorised INR payment instrument under the PSS Act or an authorised FX rail under FEMA.

Tokenised deposit treatment also remains narrower than the market label suggests. The e₹ FAQ now refers to tokenised issuance and settlement of certificate of deposits as a current wholesale pilot use case, but the public RBI materials still do not amount to a general public framework for private tokenised bank liabilities.

Classification matrix

Instrument	India treatment	Consequence
e₹ / Digital Rupee	Sovereign digital currency and legal tender under the e₹ FAQ.	Live CBDC route.
Bank account money	Ordinary bank-money transfer rail under RBI and banking / payment-system law.	Standard onshore INR outcome route.
PPI balance	RBI-authorised stored value under the PPI framework.	Payment use only through authorised issuers and merchants.
Non-security cryptoasset	VDA under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and FIU Guidelines, 2026.	Tax and AML duties attach.
Foreign stablecoin	Usually a VDA for tax and AML treatment.	Not an authorised INR payment instrument or FX rail.
Private INR stablecoin	No dedicated public RBI framework located in the reviewed RBI and payment materials.	Do not treat as authorised payment value.
Tokenised debt or fund interest	If security-like, use SCRA, the Depositories Act, and SEBI rules.	Moves into securities route rather than remaining in a VDA-only bucket.
Tokenised bank deposit / certificate of deposit	Public general framework not located; e₹-W pilot references tokenised CDs as a wholesale use case.	Treat as pilot-specific or case-specific, not as a broad public money chapter.
CBDC	Excluded from VDA scope in the FIU Guidelines.	Separate sovereign-money lane.