India in talks with Singapore and UAE to make Rupay acceptable: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India is in talks with different countries including Singapore and UAE to make Rupay acceptable in their territories.

She added that the UPI, the BHIM app, and NCPI (National Payments Corporation of India) are now being worked in a way suitable to systems in respective nations. "Interoperability itself will give strength to Indians' expertise in those countries." She was speaking with eminent economist Eshwar Prasad.

Sitharaman was speaking at the University of Maryland when a student asked about the possibility of UPI in the US. The student said UPI is what she misses the most about India. "I am really proud of our UPI system in India. I just wanted to ask, what do you think are the future plans for the UPI system and how can we share it with the world? Specifically in the US, that's what I miss the most about India not having a UPI system in the US."

On the first day of her visit to Washington DC, she highlighted how extreme policies of the west have led to extreme market responses. She added that nations that are not associated with these policies are facing consequences. The minister is in the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. She added that advanced nations must put in place safety nets rather than "impose sanctions on nations" that were merely fulfilling their obligations to people.