The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced in its Annual Report for 2024–25 that it plans to expand its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots by introducing new features and broader use cases. These updates will apply to both retail and wholesale forms of the digital rupee.

Focus on Programmability and Offline Transactions

According to the report, the digital rupee will support programmable payments and offline capabilities, aimed at improving access in areas with limited internet and enabling targeted payments like government subsidies or corporate expenditure restrictions.

Retail and Wholesale Pilots Expand

The CBDC is still in its pilot phase. The retail pilot is live with selected customers and merchants via partner banks. So far, the program has onboarded 600,000 users across 17 banks. The RBI has also allowed some non-bank entities to offer digital rupee wallets.

The wholesale pilot, primarily focused on interbank use, has gained traction with financial institutions. The scope was broadened to include four standalone primary dealers (SPDs), marking significant institutional adoption.

An excerpt of the report. Source: RBI

India Leads in Real-Time Payments

During the 2024–25 fiscal year, India saw substantial growth in digital payments. Volume rose by 34.8% and value by 17.9%. The country achieved 48.5% of global real-time payment volume, largely attributed to its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system.

One key innovation was the Delegated Payments feature, which allows a primary user to authorize a secondary individual to make UPI transactions within a preset limit.

Supreme Court Demands Crypto Regulation

On May 20, India’s Supreme Court criticized the government for lacking clear regulations on cryptocurrencies, despite imposing a 30% tax on crypto gains since April 2022. Justice Surya Kant warned about a “parallel economy” forming via digital assets, posing systemic risks.

India still has an estimated 100 million crypto asset holders, despite intensified scrutiny of the sector.