India is using about 10 digital rupee pilots to test welfare and food subsidy payments, including in Gujarat, while reportedly considering a BRICS CBDC connection before the 2026 summit.
India is expanding real-world testing of the digital rupee, or e-rupee, through about 10 pilot programs aimed at welfare payments, farmers, and food distribution. One of the clearest deployments is in Gujarat, India, where authorities plan to shift food subsidies for 7.5 million eligible families to the e-rupee by June as part of testing whether it can support a portion of roughly $80 billion in welfare spending. Since the rollout began in December 2022, e-rupee transactions have reportedly totaled about $3.6 billion. Separately, New Delhi is said to be evaluating a possible link with a BRICS CBDC network ahead of the 2026 summit, suggesting that domestic public-payment use cases may be developed alongside potential cross-border payment interoperability.