- The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital Rupee was launched in the wholesale segment on a pilot basis on 1st November.
- Under the pilot project, the digital rupee was used to settle transactions in government securities worth Rs 275 crore.
- Nine participating banks executed 24 trades worth Rs 140 crore in 7.38 per cent 2027 bond, 23 trades totalling Rs 130 in 7.26 per cent 2032 bonds and one transaction in 6.54 per cent 2032 bond, according to data available with Clearing Corporation of India.
- 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 were identified by the RBI for participation in the pilot phase.
What is E-rupee?
A token-based e-rupee is viewed as a preferred mode for retail e-rupee as it would be closer to physical cash. A token-based CBDC would be a bearer instrument like banknotes, meaning whosoever holds the tokens at a given point in time would be presumed to own them. In a token-based CBDC, the person receiving a token will verify that his ownership of the token is genuine.
