Government in talks with 7-8 countries for UPI inter-linkage, hopes to conclude next year, says DFS Secretary M. Nagaraju

DFS Secretary, M Nagaraju

Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju on November 18 said the government is in talks with 7-8 countries for the linkage of India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI) with other countries and by next year it hopes to conclude.

"Currently, we do that in Singapore and UAE, France, Nepal, Bhutan, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. We are also talking to at least another 7-8 countries. We hope by next year we will have that in place," Nagaraju said while addressing at CII Financing Summit in Mumbai.

He added that the goal of the government is to ensure UPI linkage is available first Middle East and East Asia, where large number of Indians are there and then go to Europe. Nagaraju said past decade has been one of the most transformational in the BFSI.

"BFSI sector stands very robust and credible and also globally respected. Our banks have navigated very turbulent times and now we have increased the capital of us with our banks," he said.

Our systems are good and we are selecting good borrowers and they are also afraid now that if they don't pay their company, they may lose the ownership of the company. So the entire system is actually responding to the changes that have occurred in the last 10 years, he added.

He added that to reach the goal of Vikasit Bharat 2047, BFSI sector will play a very important role, because this remains the primary source of funding for sectors vital to economic transformation, including infrastructure, MSMEs, and healthcare and agriculture.