Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
Concept and India's Digital Rupee
A Central Bank Digital Currency is a digital form of fiat money issued by a central bank, representing a direct liability of the central bank rather than a commercial bank. Unlike cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are centrally issued and regulated. India's CBDC — the digital rupee (e-rupee) — was launched as a pilot by the Reserve Bank of India in two forms: wholesale (e-W, November 2022) and retail (e-R, December 2022). The RBI derives its authority to issue digital currency from the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (Section 22), as amended by the Finance Act, 2022.
- Digital rupee in circulation reached Rs 10.16 billion (~$122 million) by March 2025, up 334% year-on-year
- The pilot expanded to 17 participating banks with over 60 lakh (6 million) users by March 2025
- RBI has enabled offline payments via NFC and programmability features for targeted government transfers
- The RBI has proposed linking BRICS countries' CBDCs on the agenda for the 2026 BRICS summit hosted by India
● Tracked since February 10, 2026 · last seen August 05, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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