India’s central bank is scaling up its digital rupee pilots with new features like programmability and offline payments, aiming for broader financial inclusion.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to broaden the reach of its digital rupee pilots by introducing new use cases and features for both its retail and wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), according to the central bank’s Annual Report for 2024–25.
The central bank said it aims to explore programmability and offline capabilities for the digital rupee, features that may increase its applicability in areas with limited internet access and tailor payments for specific use cases such as government subsidies or corporate spending controls.
Currently, both versions of the CBDC are undergoing pilot testing. The retail CBDC pilot is being conducted with select customers and merchants through participating banks, while the wholesale pilot is targeting use in the interbank market.
