India's retail central bank digital currency (CBDC-R) architects are aiming to scale the use of the digital rupee to one million users, according to sources. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is running both retail and wholesale CBDC pilots, with the retail CBDC pilot active in at least 15 cities with over 13 banks participating. The RBI is hoping to conduct offline transactions by testing the use of wearables, cards like debit and credit, bluetooth technology, and a smartphone, with more than 50 proposals submitted to the RBI to solve the problem of offline transactions. The RBI has not announced a timeline for rolling out a full-scale retail CBDC but has previously indicated it was aiming for the end of the year.

(By Amitoj Singh)