India is pushing forward with a digital rupee pilot program and plans to connect with BRICS countries' CBDCs.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is piloting approximately $80 billion in welfare spending in e-rupee across about 10 trials to reduce subsidy leaks and corruption, and to identify clear scenarios for its CBDC. In Maharashtra, farmers are receiving programmable subsidies covering 80% of drip irrigation costs, usable only at designated merchants; Gujarat plans to migrate food subsidies for 7.5 million eligible households to e-rupee by June. Since its launch in December 2022, e-rupee has processed approximately $3.6 billion in transactions, far less than the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which handles approximately $300 billion in transactions monthly. Meanwhile, the RBI is pushing for a proposal at the 2026 BRICS summit to integrate national CBDCs and reduce reliance on the US dollar.