that is why the bank of mauritius re - oriented its policy stance and brought about reductions in the rate of interest during the last two years. the successive reductions in the rate of interest helped alleviate the financial burden of enterprises in the export processing zone ( epz ). to what extent monetary policy can go on accommodating the interests of the various economic sectors without compromising the very mandate of the bank of mauritius is clear to the enlightened observers. there are limits to what monetary policy of the bank can deliver. the problems of the epz are mostly management and market - related. the emerging problem of our sugar industry is also market - related. the problems are definitively not rooted in the exchange rate of the rupee. it is inappropriate to speculate that a deliberate step to cause the rupee to depreciate is in the policy agenda of the bank of mauritius. this perception is incorrect. world price of oil has attained unprecedented levels. it will evidently impact on the domestic price level. a depreciation of the rupee, triggered by oral stimulus, would exacerbate inflationary pressures in the economy. ladies and gentlemen, having said that let me reiterate my support to the board of directors and the management of the ioib for the efforts they have been putting in so far to steer the bank out of troubles. i wish them the very best of success. thank you.

. as a central banker, i need not stress upon the determining role that cbdcs can play, not only in protecting monetary sovereignty but also in assisting central banks and regulatory authorities on the front of aml / cft. ladies and gentlemen, 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches cbdcs have been gaining traction globally. it is reported that 114 countries, representing more than 95 percent of global gdp, are currently exploring a cbdc. while only 35 countries were considering a cbdc in may 2020, today 60 countries are in an advanced phase of development, pilot, or even launch. as of december 2022, all g7 economies have embarked on the elaboration of a cbdc. project cedar, which is the fed's wholesale cbdc project, has moved the united states from research into development. 18 of the g20 countries are equally now in an advanced stage of cbdc development. of those, 7 countries are already in pilot phase. in spite of the number of cbdc experiments being carried out in various geographies, the sum total of insights on cbdcs is limited to the available research done so far, and the few proofs - of - concepts and even fewer pilot projects that have been implemented. to that effect, i mustered technical assistance from the imf to ensure that our " digital rupee " was elaborated in the best possible conditions. i must put on record that the bank of mauritius was the first central bank to benefit from an imf technical assistance in this respect. we, at the bank of mauritius, have adopted a prudent and cautious approach when we embarked on our cbdc journey. in the preliminary stage, in mid - 2020, the bank interacted with experts from different units of the imf who provided opportunities to strengthen our team's analytical and technological capability through brainstorming workshops. these laid out an early formulation of a thinking through framework for a potential cbdc for mauritius. following this, our team investigated objectives, pain points, use cases, technology, infrastructure, cybersecurity readiness and the bank of mauritius'role. further investigation was carried out on the design choices and the related legal foundations. the bank also engaged with the private sector assisted by the imf. the decision has been taken for our cbdc, the digital rupee, to be interest free. additionally, we have decided to adopt a two - tier distribution model to manage potential risks to monetary policy and financial stability. this