Finance
Paris: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India and France have agreed to adopt the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment mechanism, which would begin with the renowned Eiffel Tower. PM Modi told the Indian community at the La Seine Musicale, a performing arts center on an island in the Seine, that Indian tourists in France will now be able to pay with rupees.
“In France, an agreement has been made for the use of India’s UPI…It will be started from the Eiffel Tower, and now Indian tourists would be able to make payments in Rupees, through UPI, in the Eiffel Tower,” the prime minister said.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organization that provides UPI services, inked an MoU in 2022 with Lyra, France’s quick and secure online payment system.
In 2023, UPI and Singapore’s PayNow struck an agreement that will allow users in both countries to conduct cross-border transactions. The UPI payment system has already been used by the UAE, Bhutan, and Nepal. The NPCI International is in talks to expand UPI services in the United States, Europe, and West Asia.
PM Modi also mentioned an International Monetary Fund (IMF) research that found India’s efforts benefit not only the country but all of humanity. “According to an IMF study, extreme poverty in India is on the verge of ending.” When India produces such wonderful things, it benefits not only the country but the entire world,” Modi added.
Amid chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai,’ Modi also stated that a statue of great Tamil philosopher Thiruvalluvar will be created in the Cergy Prefecture in a few weeks or months.
Modi also recalled a personal link with France that dated back at least four decades, when he had become the first member of Alliance Francaise Centre in Ahmedabad way back in 1981.
“My attachment to France is quite old, and I can never forget it. Around 40 years ago, a cultural centre of France was started in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and the first member of that very centre is today talking to you,” the prime minister said.
Source:IN
