The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to expand the coverage of its digital rupee pilot project by introducing new use cases and functionalities, covering both retail (e₹-Retail) and wholesale (e₹-Wholesale) central bank digital currencies (CBDC), according to the bank's report for the fiscal year 2024-25.
The central bank stated that its goal is to explore programmability and offline capabilities for the digital rupee—features that can enhance its applicability in areas with limited internet access and customize payment methods for specific use cases, such as government subsidies or corporate expenditure control.
Currently, both versions of the CBDC are undergoing pilot testing. The e₹-Retail pilot is conducted through participating banks with selected customers and merchants, while the e₹-Wholesale pilot targets the interbank market.
According to the report, the e₹-Retail pilot has attracted 600,000 users across 17 banks. To further expand adoption, the RBI has allowed "certain non-bank institutions […] to provide CBDC wallets."
The e₹-Wholesale pilot has also witnessed increased institutional interest. The report confirms that "the scope of e₹-Wholesale has further expanded and diversified, with the addition of four independent primary dealers (SPD)."
In the fiscal year 2024-2025, India's digital payments saw significant growth in both transaction volume and value. The report states that the total volume of digital payments grew by 34.8% in terms of transactions and by 17.9% in value.
Additionally, India dominated global real-time payments during this year. The RBI noted that the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) "accounted for 48.5% of the global real-time payment transaction volume, leading the way."
The central bank stated that several innovative features have been introduced to extend the benefits of digital payments to a broader segment of society.
For example, the report mentioned the launch of a "delegated payment" feature, allowing "individuals (primary users) to authorize another person (secondary user) to conduct UPI transactions from the primary user's bank account, with a maximum limit set by the primary user."
On May 20, the Supreme Court of India expressed concerns over the government's inaction in regulating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, despite imposing a 30% tax on them.
Judge Surya Kant criticized the "parallel economy" formed through digital assets, stating that it poses a potential threat to the national financial system.
In India, users face a 30% tax on profits from cryptocurrency transactions, a policy that has been in effect since April 2022.
Despite increasingly stringent regulatory scrutiny faced by cryptocurrency companies operating in the country, it is estimated that India has over 100 million digital asset holders among its approximately 1.4 billion population.
Related: Russia allows banks to offer crypto products to qualified investors
Original: “RBI Expands Digital Rupee Pilots with New Use Cases”
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