According to Cointelegraph, Foresight News reports that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced in its 2024-25 annual report that it will expand the digital rupee (CBDC) pilot scope, introducing new features such as programmability and offline payments for retail and wholesale versions.
These features aim to improve the digital rupee's applicability in areas with limited network connectivity and customize payment solutions for specific scenarios like government subsidies or corporate expense control. Currently, the retail pilot has covered 600,000 users across 17 banks, and the RBI has also allowed "specific non-bank institutions to provide CBDC wallets" to further expand adoption. The wholesale pilot has also attracted more institutional participation, including four new independent primary dealers. During the same period, India's digital payment transaction volume grew by 34.8%, with transaction value increasing by 17.9%. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has positioned India as a leader in global real-time payments, processing 48.5% of global real-time payment transactions. The RBI has also launched innovative features like "delegated payments" to further expand digital payment coverage across social strata.
