RBI To Launch Retail Digital Rupee On December 1 On Pilot Basis
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today announced that the retail digital rupee will be launched on December 01, 2022, on a pilot basis.
The central bank has identified eight banks for phase-wise participation in this trial.
The retail digital rupee will be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. The RBI will issue digital currency in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are issued.
Retail digital rupee transactions can be carried out through a digital wallet on mobile phones and other devices. Only those digital wallets offered by banks participating in the RBI's digital rupee programme can transact in digital currency.
The retail digital currency will be distributed through banks. Transactions in digital currency can be carried out between person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M). Payments to merchants can be made using QR (Quick Response) codes displayed at merchant locations.Â
The retail digital rupee would offer features of physical cash like trust, safety, and settlement finality. As in the case of cash, it will not earn any interest and can be converted to other forms of money, like deposits with banks.
Â
The retail digital rupee (₹-R) would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. It would be issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued. It would be distributed through intermediaries, i.e., banks. Users will be able to transact with e₹-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones/devices.Â
The first phase will begin with four banks - State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank in four cities across the country. Four other banks -- Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank -- will join the trial later.Â
The pilot will cover Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar and will later extend to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, and Shimla, RBI said.Â
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
