Monetary Policy 2024: Shaktikanta Das announces Programmability and Offline Functionality for the CBDC Retail pilot

Shaktikanta Das, governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has announced Programmability and Offline Functionality for the central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project, mainly known as the Digital Rupee (e-rupee). While addressing the nation, during the Monetary Policy 2024 speech, Das proposed to enable additional functionalities of Programmability and Offline Capability for CBDC retail payments.

From what it’s understood, the Programmability addition to Digital Rupee will allow transactions for specific or targeted purposes, while the Offline Functionality addition to Digital Rupee will enable transactions in areas with poor or limited Internet access.