The Reserve Bank of India is planning to introduce its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) this fiscal year in a phased manner, initially for use only by wholesale businesses. Meanwhile, the Centre has told banks that they can exercise their commercial discretion and not deal with sanctioned entities, particularly in the case of Russia, while settling international trade in rupees. Read more on these in our top headlines.

India's CBDC roll-out likely this fiscal with wholesale businesses

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to introduce its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) this fiscal year in a phased manner, initially for use only by wholesale businesses, and is designing it in a way that leaves no room for anonymity by its users, sources said. The CBDC will be introduced for retail segments only after the RBI examines its usage among wholesale businesses, and a call on whether to allow anonymous transactions for general usage will be taken then. Read more

Trade settlement: Govt says banks free to not deal with sanctioned entities

The Centre has told banks that they can exercise their commercial discretion and not deal with sanctioned entities, particularly in the case of Russia, while settling international trade in rupees, people aware of the matter said. Banks had reached out to the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), expressing their fear that the rupee trade mechanism could result in economic sanctions on them by the West. Read more

Firms rev up plans to build massive battery storage capacity to power EVs

India will be building over 145 gigawatt hour (GWh) of advanced chemistry cell battery storage capacity to power the electric vehicle revolution, according to government estimates. The required investment will be around $15 billion (Rs 1.2 trillion). This capacity will come both through companies eligible for the PLI scheme, which is expected to generate 50 GWh of advanced battery storage, and through commitments made by other private companies in the next two to five years to generate a further 95 GWh. Read more

No plans to levy charges on UPI transactions, says Finance Ministry

The Centre on Sunday said there are no plans to levy charges for making payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) while saying the service is a “digital public good with immense convenience”. The Ministry of Finance on Sunday said the concerns of service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means. Read more

Three trends suggest India is adding short to its video-first market

As usage and time spent go through the roof, short video is becoming the YouTube of the internet. Much of what Reels, Josh, Taka Tak or others go through is what YouTube, which came in 2008, has experienced. For years, Google's YouTube has been the default entry point for anyone experiencing the internet for the first time. Read more

The Reserve Bank of India is planning to introduce its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) this fiscal year in a phased manner, initially for use only by wholesale businesses. Meanwhile, the Centre has told banks that they can exercise their commercial discretion and not deal with sanctioned entities, particularly in the case of Russia, while settling international trade in rupees. Read more on these in our top headlines.

India's CBDC roll-out likely this fiscal with wholesale businesses

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to introduce its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) this fiscal year in a phased manner, initially for use only by wholesale businesses, and is designing it in a way that leaves no room for anonymity by its users, sources said. The CBDC will be introduced for retail segments only after the RBI examines its usage among wholesale businesses, and a call on whether to allow anonymous transactions for general usage will be taken then. Read more

Trade settlement: Govt says banks free to not deal with sanctioned entities

The Centre has told banks that they can exercise their commercial discretion and not deal with sanctioned entities, particularly in the case of Russia, while settling international trade in rupees, people aware of the matter said. Banks had reached out to the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), expressing their fear that the rupee trade mechanism could result in economic sanctions on them by the West. Read more

Firms rev up plans to build massive battery storage capacity to power EVs

India will be building over 145 gigawatt hour (GWh) of advanced chemistry cell battery storage capacity to power the electric vehicle revolution, according to government estimates. The required investment will be around $15 billion (Rs 1.2 trillion). This capacity will come both through companies eligible for the PLI scheme, which is expected to generate 50 GWh of advanced battery storage, and through commitments made by other private companies in the next two to five years to generate a further 95 GWh. Read more

No plans to levy charges on UPI transactions, says Finance Ministry

The Centre on Sunday said there are no plans to levy charges for making payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) while saying the service is a “digital public good with immense convenience”. The Ministry of Finance on Sunday said the concerns of service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means. Read more

Three trends suggest India is adding short to its video-first market

As usage and time spent go through the roof, short video is becoming the YouTube of the internet. Much of what Reels, Josh, Taka Tak or others go through is what YouTube, which came in 2008, has experienced. For years, Google's YouTube has been the default entry point for anyone experiencing the internet for the first time. Read more