UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — What is RBI nudging India to do at BRICS?

Q1. Which one of the following countries holds the BRICS Chairmanship for the year 2026, during which the Reserve Bank of India has proposed to push a multilateral CBDC settlement framework?

  • A. Russia
  • B. Brazil
  • C. India
  • D. South Africa

Q2. In the context of the RBI's proposal at BRICS, which one of the following best describes a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) such as India's e-rupee (e₹)?

  • A. A privately issued cryptocurrency whose value is backed by foreign-exchange reserves of the central bank
  • B. A sovereign legal tender issued in digital form by the central bank, equivalent in value to the fiat currency it represents
  • C. A stablecoin issued by scheduled commercial banks and pegged to the rupee on a one-to-one basis
  • D. A digital wallet balance held in a savings bank account that is settled exclusively through the UPI rails

Q3. As of 2026, how many countries are full members of BRICS — the grouping to which the RBI has proposed extending a multilateral CBDC-based cross-border payments framework?

  • A. 9
  • B. 10
  • C. 11
  • D. 13

Q4. India's Central Bank Digital Currency in the retail segment (e₹-R) — the instrument the RBI proposes to extend for BRICS cross-border settlement — was first launched as a pilot in which of the following?

  • A. October 2021
  • B. November 2022
  • C. December 2022
  • D. April 2023