The Reserve Bank of India will soon commence the pilot run of multiple application smart cards in a bid to finalise the standard procedures for their usage in the country.

"The government appointed committee, headed by the RBI, to formulate the standard procedures submitted its report last December. The government is now in the process of commencing the proof of concept (pilot)," RBI chief general manager (IT) R Gandhi said while inaugurating a seminar on smart cards in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The RBI is working closely with the Union information technology ministry on this project, he said, adding that depending upon the pilot project, standard procedures would be fine-tuned to suit the Indian environment.

The project will begin shortly at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay.

During 2002-03, the volume of transactions conducted through cheques was 82.53 per cent, while e-payments accounted for 17.47 per cent. In value terms, it stood at 94.24 per cent and 5.76 per cent, respectively, Gandhi said.