India Digital Rupee event
Overview
The digital rupee (e₹) is the Reserve Bank of India's central bank digital currency, launched as pilots in two segments: the wholesale pilot (e₹-W) on 1 November 2022, initially for settlement of secondary-market government securities transactions, and the retail pilot (e₹-R) on 1 December 2022. The retail e₹ is a digital token representing legal tender, issued in the same denominations as banknotes and coins and held in wallets offered by participating banks, supporting both person-to-person and person-to-merchant payments. The retail pilot began in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh and is interoperable with UPI QR codes.
Within the DeFi Intel graph, India Digital Rupee connects to 2 tracked entities, most strongly to Reserve Bank of India, Reserve Bank of India.
Relations
Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 2 of 2 total).
| Relation | Connected entity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
issued_by | Reserve Bank of India | 95% |
issued | Reserve Bank of India | 95% |
Frequently asked questions
When did the RBI launch its CBDC pilots?
The wholesale pilot (e₹-W) launched on 1 November 2022 and the retail pilot (e₹-R) on 1 December 2022.
What was the first wholesale use case?
Settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities.
Can the digital rupee be used with UPI?
Yes — the retail e₹ is interoperable with UPI QR codes, so users can scan an existing UPI QR and pay in CBDC.
Sources
Facts on this page were verified against the following sources.