India is likely to adopt a wait-and-watch approach in deploying the central bank digital currency (CBDC) beyond the ongoing pilots, taking cues from other major economies, government sources said. India is monitoring developments the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, among others, on their CBDC frameworks, indicating that the country could either wait for other major economies to launch first or align its rollout with them. “Domestic rollout through a wallet is relatively straightforward but the real value comes when CBDCs can be used for cross-border transactions. That requires coordination with other countries,” one of the sources cited above said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is running pilot programmes for both the retail and wholesale versions of the digital rupee, testing various use cases and operational features. Timing is a key consideration. According to sources, India is keen to align its CBDC strategy with global developments, particularly in the area of cross-border payments.