e-Rupee: RBI creates Rs 1.71 crore of digital currency for retail pilot

Aims to involve 50,000 merchants, customers in the next few days

The pilot project for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the retail segment went live on Thursday with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing Rs 1.71 crore to four participating banks based on their indents.
 

The central bank has identified four banks for the first phase of the pilot — State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank — in four cities, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar. The highest indent was received from one private sector bank.
 

While the pilot was started with Rs 1.71 crore of digital currency, but depending on the user