Lok Sabha Question No. 4842 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Digital Rupee and Advancement of Cross-Border Digital Payments
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Shri Vishnu Dayal Ram, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal, Shri Anoop Pradhan Valmiki, Shri Dulu Mahato, Shri Damodar Agrawal, Shri Praveen Patel, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao, Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Shri Mahesh Kashyap, Shri Mukesh Rajput, Shri Ravindra Shukla Alias Ravi Kishan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4842

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2026/ CHAITRA 02, 1948 (SAKA)

## Digital Rupee and Advancement of Cross-Border Digital Payments

4842. Shri Vishnu Dayal Ram:

Shri Sudheer Gupta:

Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal:

Shri Anoop Pradhan Valmiki:

Shri Dulu Mahato:

Shri Damodar Agrawal:

Shri Praveen Patel:

Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao:

Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane:

Shri Mahesh Kashyap:

Shri Mukesh Rajput:

Shri Ravindra Shukla Alias Ravi Kishan:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Digital  Rupee,  introduced  following  amendment  to  the  RBI  Act,  has  been operationalised as legal tender to strengthen the digital payments ecosystem;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, including progress in pilot phases, user adoption and institutional participation;
- (c) whether cross-border pilot initiatives and multilateral collaborations have been undertaken to enhance efficiency and reduce costs in international payments; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof, including participating jurisdictions and expected impact on crossborder transaction settlement mechanisms?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a) & (b): The  Government  of  India  vide  gazette  notification  dated  March  30,  2022 notified the necessary amendments in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, conferring the status  of  legal  tender  to  'Digital  Rupee',  thus,  enabling  the  commencement  of  pilots.  The Reserve  Bank  of  India  (RBI)  has  launched  pilots  in  Digital  Rupee  (Central  Bank  Digital Currency- CBDC) on November 1, 2022 for wholesale CBDC and on December 1, 2022 for retail CBDC. RBI is presently engaged in working towards a phased implementation strategy before a decision on the final launch is taken. The pilot started with person to person and person to  merchant  payments  and  subsequently,  offline  and  programmable  functionalities  are  also being tested. The specific feature of programmability is being leveraged for multiple Direct Benefit Transfer schemes. The technical architecture is also being reviewed on an on-going basis and multiple functionalities like interoperability with UPI, capability to process decimal payments etc. have been introduced. As on March 16, 2026, there are 19 banks participating in Retail CBDC pilot, and one crore users have been onboarded since its inception in December 2022. Currently, in the wholesale CBDC pilot there are 16 participants, which includes banks and non-banks.

(c) & (d): With regard to the cross-border segment of CBDC, RBI is in discussion with the  Central  Banks  of  UAE  and  Monetary  Authority  of  Singapore,  and  has  joined  the multilateral projects such as Rialto (Singapore Centre) and Aperta (Hong Kong Centre). RBI has also become a participant in phase 2 of Project Mandala being led the Singapore Centre. CBDC has the potential to streamline and improve cross-border transactions. CBDC could offer  advantages  by  streamlining  the  cost  of  international  remittances,  minimising  risks associated with multiple intermediaries, enhancing efficiency through faster settlement times, 24x7 availability and providing greater transparency in payment status.

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