Lok Sabha Question No. 178 (STARRED), answered on 2023-03-13
Subject: e-Rupee
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel, Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.178 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2023

## e-Rupee

## *178. SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE: SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  recently  launched  a  pilot  project  on  retail  e-rupee  in  the country  and if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  total  amount  of  e-rupee  issued  by  the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for retail and wholesale segment till now since its inception;
- (b) the total number of wholesale units which had affiliated themselves with the e-rupee and started accepting the same;
- (c)  whether  the  said  pilot  project  of  RBI  has  not  received  the  expected  response  from  the public and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to popularize the e-rupees among common public just like UPI payment system?

## ANSWER

## FINANCE MINISTER

## (SMT. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)

- (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the table of the House.

STATEMENT REFFERED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 178 RAISED BY SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE AND SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO  MANDLIK,  HON'BLE  MEMBERS  OF  PARLIAMENT  TO  BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2023 REGARDING E-RUPEE

(a) The  Reserve  Bank  of  India  (RBI)  has  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. 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₹-R offers features of physical cash like trust, safety and settlement finality. As in  the  case  of  cash,  it  does  not  earn  any  interest  and  can  be  converted  to  other  forms  of money, like deposits with banks.

As  on  February  28,  2023,  the  total  digital  Rupee  -  Retail  (e₹-R)  and  digital  Rupee  Wholesale (e₹-W) in circulation is ₹ 4.14 crore and ₹ 126.27 crore respectively.

(b): Nine banks, viz., 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.

(c) & (d): The e ₹ pilot for retail segment was launched on December 1, 2022 in 5 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  headquarter, Mumbai),  small  shopkeepers  etc.  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 ₹ 4.14 crore.

Various use cases, technological architecture and design features are being tested during the pilot.  Awareness  with  regard  to  features  of  digital  rupee  is  being  spread  among  public through media campaigns and various events held by RBI. Further steps, including expansion of use case, have to be through a phased implementation strategy on the basis of  feedback received during the pilots.

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