PM Modi Integrates Odisha’s Subhadra Yojana Into RBI Digital Currency Pilot

New Delhi, Sep 18 (KNN) Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Tuesday that Odisha’s flagship Subhadra Yojana has been integrated into the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) digital currency pilot project, allowing women beneficiaries to use the digital currency for transactions.

The announcement came during the launch of the women-centric scheme in Bhubaneswar, where the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the women of Odisha for their participation.

Under the Subhadra Yojana, over 1 crore women across the state will receive financial assistance of Rs 50,000, with the funds deposited directly into their bank accounts.

The scheme aims to ensure timely support for women, bolstered by the integration with RBI’s digital currency initiative.

Launched in 2022, the RBI’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot programme is divided into two segments including retail (CBDC-R) and wholesale (CBDC-W).

While CBDC-W targets institutional financial market participants, CBDC-R is designed for retail consumers, enabling Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions.

On a national level, the central government conducted over 10 billion direct benefit transfer (DBT) transactions in 2023-24, amounting to Rs 6.9 trillion.

According to RBI’s currency and finance report, the retail CBDC pilot saw significant growth, with the number of customers increasing from 1.3 million in June 2023 to 5 million by June 2024, and merchants rising from 0.3 million to 0.42 million during the same period.

The RBI has been expanding its CBDC pilot programme with new use cases and increased participation from banks.

To broaden access, the central bank is now allowing non-bank payment system operators to offer CBDC wallets, providing customers with more options for digital transactions.

(KNN Bureau)