New Delhi, February 6: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has gone live in over eight countries, including the UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Qatar, and Mauritius. This development underscores India’s leadership in digital payments, as reported by the government in Parliament on Friday.
Minister of State for Electronics and Information TECHNOLOGY, Jitendra Prasad, informed the Rajya Sabha that the international acceptance of UPI is boosting remittances, promoting financial inclusion, and strengthening India’s position in the global fintech landscape.
Additionally, the government has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with 23 countries to share or collaborate on India’s Stack/Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). These agreements primarily aim to enhance the adoption of India’s digital governance platforms.
The minister stated that these MoUs are designed to foster collaboration in areas such as digital identity, digital payments, data exchange, and service delivery platforms. They align with India’s comprehensive digital public infrastructure diplomacy under the India Stack framework.
MoUs have also been signed with Cuba, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) for DigiLocker.
Furthermore, the government is taking steps to share the success of India’s DPI on a global scale. The India Stack Global initiative showcases India’s DPI and assists friendly nations in its adoption. This portal provides access to 18 major digital platforms.
The minister noted, “The Global DPI Repository, launched during India’s G20 presidency in 2023, serves as a global knowledge platform, with India contributing the highest number of DPI solutions.”
Key DPI and digital solutions include Aadhaar, UPI, CoWIN, API Setu, DigiLocker, Aarogya Setu, GEM, UMANG, DIKSHA, e-Sanjeevani, and PM Gati Shakti, among others.
Meanwhile, recent data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) indicates a 28% year-on-year increase in UPI transactions for January, reaching 21.70 billion. The transaction amount also saw a 21% annual increase, totaling ₹28.33 lakh crore.
