PM Modi calls RuPay, UPI technologies ‘India’s identity’

RuPay and UPI technologies are India's identity in the world, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday while addressing a post-Budget webinar on the subject of 'Enhancing Efficiency of the Financial Services for Creating Growth Opportunities'.

This was the tenth of the series of 12 webinars being organized by the government. The objective behind hosting the webinars is to seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementation of the initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023. 

He said that in the era of Industry 4.0, platforms developed by India are becoming models for the world. “RuPay and UPI are not just a low cost and highly secure technology, but it is our identity in the world. There is immense scope for innovation.”

"UPI should become a means of financial inclusion and empowerment for the whole world, we have to work for it collectively. I suggest that our financial institutions should also have a maximum partnership with fintech to increase their reach," the Prime Minister said as quoted by ANI. 

India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems for fintech innovation. The PM Modi-led government has been instrumental in driving the globalization of India's digital payment infrastructure. 

Last month, India and Singapore linked their respective online payments systems -- Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore -- for seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries. 

After the successful launch of the cross-border connectivity of real-time digital payment with Singapore last week, experts believe that India's UPI likely to extend to UAE, Mauritius, Indonesia.

The linkage of these two payment systems of both countries would enable residents of both countries to the faster and more cost-efficient transfer of cross-border remittances. People in both countries will be able to send money in real-time via QR-code based or simply by entering mobile numbers linked to the bank account.

Separately, considering the popularity of the UPI payment system, the Reserve Bank of India proposed to permit all inbound travelers to India to use UPI for their merchant payments while they are in the country.

UPI payments system has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India, and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace. To begin with, the facility will be extended to travelers from G-20 countries.

(With ANI inputs)