# Digital rupee in circulation falls 24% to ₹771.7 crore even as RBI expands programmable and cross-border pilots

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/digital-rupee-in-circulation-falls-24-to-771-7-crore-even-as-rbi-6d87b66d
Date: 29 May 2026
About: [Reserve Bank of India](https://technooptimist.io/companies/reserve-bank-of-india.md) · [Digital rupee (e₹)](https://technooptimist.io/crypto/e-rupee.md)
Original source: https://www.businessupturn.com/sectors/banking/digital-rupee-in-circulation-falls-24-to-rs-771-7-crore-even-as-rbi-expands-cbdc-pilots

The RBI's 2025-26 annual report shows e₹ in circulation at ₹771.7 crore on March 31, 2026, down from ₹1,016.5 crore a year earlier. During the year it ran CBDC pilots for government benefit transfers, including food subsidies paid as programmable e₹ in Gujarat, Puducherry and Chandigarh.

## Key facts

- A wholesale-CBDC pilot for tokenised certificates of deposit has started on the Unified Markets Interface.
- Talks with Singapore's MAS and the UAE central bank aim at a cross-border CBDC pilot.
- India joined BIS projects Rialto and Mandala (phase 2) on cross-border payments.

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