RAS question
The Digital Rupee (e-rupee) CBDC pilot was launched by RBI in:
Correct answer: (D) 2022.
The Reserve Bank of India launched the Digital Rupee CBDC pilot in 2022, beginning with the wholesale e-rupee pilot on November 1, 2022.
Explanation
The year is 2022 because RBI's own press release on the Operationalisation of Central Bank Digital Currency-Wholesale pilot says the first Digital Rupee wholesale segment pilot, e₹-W, would commence on November 1, 2022. The full exam-relevant sequence is that the wholesale pilot began in November 2022, the retail pilot followed in December 2022, and the Finance Act, 2022 enabled the legal framework. The date matters because the launch was not a general digital-payments milestone; it was the start of RBI's CBDC pilots for specific use cases. The Reserve Bank of India also identifies the wholesale use case as settlement of secondary-market transactions in government securities.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 2020 is too early, because the first Digital Rupee wholesale pilot began on November 1, 2022.
- (B) 2021 is also early, since the pilot sequence began only in 2022, after the legal framework was enabled.
- (C) 2023 is late, because the wholesale pilot had already begun in November 2022 and the retail pilot followed in December 2022.
Concept
This tests the Indian Economy concept of central bank digital currency and RBI-led monetary innovation. It recurs in RAS because CBDC links current monetary policy, payment systems and statutory changes in one examinable timeline.