The Reserve Bank of India is expected to kick off the pilot project on cheque truncation, which eliminates physical movement of cheques, in Delhi over the next 9-12 months.

"We have invited tenders from parties for developing the necessary software for cheque truncation", Reserve Bank of India chief general manager R Gandhi told newspersons on the sidelines of a seminar organised by Indian Banks' Association in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The pilot project would be initiated in Delhi, he added.

Cheque truncation is the process in which the physical movement of cheque is curtailed or eliminated by electronic records of their content for further processing and transmission.

Cheque truncation system is an image-based cheque clearing system. The cheque will be scanned upon deposit and its electronic image will be transmitted throughout the entire clearing cycle.

A RBI constituted working group, had in September last, recommended introduction of cheque truncation in the four metros in the first phase due to the high volume of transactions.

The group, chaired by RBI executive director R B Barman had said that once the truncation process was established in these centres, rolling it out at other places would be a relatively easier task.