Categories: Trending now

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

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.

“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.

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.


Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.
News Today

Recent Posts

Kareena Kapoor’s Next Untitled Film With Meghna Gulzar Gets Prithviraj Sukumaran On Board

Kareena Kapoor is working with Raazi director Meghna Gulzar for her next film. The project,…

19 hours ago

Purdue basketball freshman Daniel Jacobsen injured vs Northern Kentucky

2024-11-09 15:00:03 WEST LAFAYETTE -- Daniel Jacobsen's second game in Purdue basketball's starting lineup lasted…

19 hours ago

Rashida Jones honors dad Quincy Jones with heartfelt tribute: ‘He was love’

2024-11-09 14:50:03 Rashida Jones is remembering her late father, famed music producer Quincy Jones, in…

20 hours ago

Nosferatu Screening at Apollo Theatre Shows Student Interest in Experimental Cinema – The Oberlin Review

2024-11-09 14:40:03 A silent German expressionist film about vampires accompanied by Radiohead’s music — what…

20 hours ago

What Are Adaptogens? Find Out How These 3 Herbs May Help You Tackle Stress Head-On

Let's face it - life can be downright stressful! With everything moving at breakneck speed,…

20 hours ago

The new Mac Mini takes a small step towards upgradeable storage

Apple’s redesigned Mac Mini M4 has ditched the previous M2 machine’s SSD that was soldered…

20 hours ago