You could soon pay with digital rupee—even without internet
What's the story
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to expand the offline-use feature of its Central Bank Digital Currency-Retail (CBDC-R).
The move would allow retail users to transact using this virtual currency without needing an internet connection.
Currently, 17 banks offer this feature for CBDC-R transactions. However, in the coming months, more than 30 banks could be on board with it.
Pilot expansion
CBDC-R pilot expanded to 17 banks, 6 million users
The RBI's annual report for 2024-25 revealed that by March-end 2025, the CBDC-R pilot had been expanded to 17 banks and six million users since its launch in December 2022.
The circulation value of CBDC-R increased significantly from ₹234 crore last year to ₹1,016 crore at the end of March this year.
Feature exploration
Pilot on programmability features of CBDC-R
Since 2022, the RBI has been conducting several pilots to explore the offline and programmability features of CBDC-R.
These include use cases like direct benefit transfers to farmers against carbon credits generation and loans to tenant farmers under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) in select locations.
Employee allowances for fuel/meal purposes are also being implemented by banks using this digital currency.
Government initiative
e-rupee under Odisha's Subhadra Yojana
Under the Odisha government's Subhadra Yojana, e-rupee has been used as a payment channel for around 88,000 beneficiaries so far.
The RBI is also in talks with several central and state government ministries to use the programmability feature of CBDC to transfer funds with a defined end use to beneficiaries.
International exploration
RBI exploring bilateral cross-border CBDC pilots with select countries
The RBI is also exploring bilateral cross-border CBDC pilots with select countries.
Progress has been made in finalizing a roadmap, technical aspects, and use cases for these international transactions.
Vivek Iyer, partner at Grant Thornton Bharat, said the pilot rollout of CBDC-R by the RBI is aimed at understanding the pros and cons of digital rupee implementation.