India announced during the Union Budget 2022 its version of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) called Digital Rupee. Based on Blockchain technology, Digital Rupee's pilot program has now started in India. A total of nine banks will be able to participate in the pilot. Take a look at the details.
What is the Indian digital rupee all about?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the pilot will begin in the Digital Rupee (wholesale segment), starting today. For those who don't know, the wholesale version of Digital Rupee aka (e₹-W) is meant for settlement of interbank transfers. The pilot is expected to "make the interbank market more efficient."
There is also Digital Rupee (Retail segment) aka (e₹-R), which is meant for general use and includes customers and merchants. Its pilot is expected to begin within a month for certain closed user groups in select locations.
The pilot will include banks such as State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank and HSBC.
