India’s recently launched CBDC pilot has amassed 50,000 users, and 5,000 merchants since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the digital rupee pilot last year, local news agency The Economic Times reported on Feb. 8.

Indian Web-3 social-video app Chingari has partnered with the Aptos blockchain to provide infrastructural support for its Web3 product base.

In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, the Algorand team said that it partnered with Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad and the Indian School of Business with the intention of launching educational programs. This includes programs for both faculty development and student developer training. In addition, the firm will also be hosting a master class for businesses looking to dive into the Web3 space.

India wants to launch its central bank digital currency at a national level by the end of 2023, but early into its pilot, the Reserve Bank of India has identified challenges, several people familiar with the matter said. India launched two CBDC pilots last year. The first, a wholesale CBDC effort (CBDC-W), began on Nov. 1 with the participation of nine banks. The other, a retail CBDC (CBDC-R) pilot, launched on Dec. 1 in four cities – Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar. Initially, four banks, including the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank participated. It has "now been extended to 15 cities with Chandigarh as the newest addition," a senior official told CoinDesk. "More than 50,000 customers and 10,000 small and big merchants have been onboarded now," including Reliance Retail, the nation's largest retail chain. (Coindesk)

India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, stated that regulation “cannot be done” by a single country, it requires “collective action,” in a recent television interview.

India looks to become a $5 trillion economy. The goal is pretty much achievable, provided all the sectors work in the same direction. Web3, the upcoming internet for the future generation, can contribute as much as any other industry. CoinDCX echoed the idea while emphasizing that the Namaste Web3 initiatives have great potential to accelerate the country’s growth.

For the first time since taking over the G-20 presidency, India has officially revealed details of the ongoing work around how to regulate crypto.

India is aiming to bring G20 members to a consensus on the roadmap for regulating digital assets within this year, the Economic Times of India reported on Feb. 2.

India's largest retailer Reliance Retail has announced plans to accept payments in the digital rupee in a move that could boost the nation's adoption of CBDCs.

The Indian government has introduced new crypto tax penalties, including for non-payment of crypto tax deducted at source (TDS). Much to the disappointment of the crypto community, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention crypto in her Budget speech this year. Crypto income remains taxed at 30% while TDS stays at 1%. (Bitcoin.com)