E-Rupee Worth Over Rs. 130 Crore in Circulation, Says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

RBI had launched pilots in digital rupee in the wholesale segment on November 1, 2022 and in the retail segment on December 1, 2022.

By Press Trust of India | Updated: 14 March 2023 12:16 IST

E-Rupee Worth Over Rs. 130 Crore in Circulation, Says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Photo Credit: Reuters

The e₹ pilot for the retail segment was launched on December 1 last year in five select locations

Highlights

E-rupee is in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender
Nine banks have been participating in the digital rupee wholesale pilot
Few online merchants have also been enabled to accept digital rupee

Digital or e-rupee worth over Rs 130 crore is in circulation on a pilot basis as of February 28, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had launched pilots in digital rupee in the wholesale segment (e₹-W) on November 1, 2022 and in the retail segment (e₹-R) on December 1, 2022.

Nine banks — State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank and HSBC, have been participating in the digital rupee wholesale pilot, Sitharaman said.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

"As on February 28, 2023, the total digital rupee - Retail (e₹-R) and digital rupee - wholesale (e₹-W) in circulation is Rs 4.14 crore and Rs 126.27 crore, respectively," Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The e₹-R is in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. It is being issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued.

It is being distributed through financial intermediaries, i.e., banks. Users can transact with e₹-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones/devices.

2023’s Biggest Crypto Hack Costs Euler Finance Over $177 Million: Details

The e₹ pilot for retail segment was launched on December 1, 2022 in five select locations in closed user group for making Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Merchant (P2M) transactions.

The on-boarded merchants comprise various segments like tea vendors, fruit sellers, street side and sidewalk vendors (including migrant fruit vendors selling on the pavement opposite the RBI's headquarters, Mumbai), small shopkeepers etc," Sitharaman said.

Further, institutional merchants like retail chains, petrol pumps etc. have also been on-boarded to enable transactions in digital rupee across various outlets.

Few online merchants have also been enabled to accept digital rupee for the convenience of users.

In the approximately three months of the pilot, the total digital rupee - Retail (e₹-R) in circulation in the select locations is Rs. 4.14 crore, the minister said.

"Various use cases, technological architecture and design features are being tested during the pilot... Further steps, including expansion of use case, have to be through a phased implementation strategy on the basis of feedback received during the pilots," Sitharaman added.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro has a hefty price tag compared to the company's 2022 flagship model. How does it fare against other high-end phones launched in 2023? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.