Economics · Digital Payments and Banking

Consider the operational details of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in India: Statement 1: UPI is a real-time payment system developed by the NPCI that facilitates inter-bank peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant transactions using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA). Statement 2: The Digital Rupee (e-Rupee) is a legal tender issued by the RBI in digital form, which is interchangeable one-to-one with physical fiat currency and represents a sovereign liability of the central bank. Statement 3: Retail CBDC (e-R) is designed for the general public for daily transactions, while Wholesale CBDC (e-W) is restricted to financial institutions for interbank transfers and wholesale asset settlements. Statement 4: Unlike physical cash, the Digital Rupee allows the RBI to track the velocity of money and can potentially be programmed for specific end-uses like subsidies or agricultural benefits. Which of the following statements is/are correct?