NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it will launch first pilot of Central Bank Digital Currency Digital Rupee (Wholesale segment) on November 1, 2022 (Tuesday) for transactions in government securities.

In a statement on Monday it said- The use case for this pilot is settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities. Use of e₹-W is expected to make the inter-bank market more efficient.

The central bank also said that nine banks will participate in the pilot, including 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.

In the retail segment the central bank has planned for launch within a month in select locations in closed user groups comprising customers and merchants.

On the other hand, the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India today reviewed the current economic situation and challenges being faced by the country due to global geopolitical crises. The 598th meeting of the central board was held under the chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das, the RBI said in a statement.