India is advancing its free-trade ambitions by increasingly seeking ways to connect its payment systems with international trading partners to ease cross-border transactions, according to a Wednesday Bloomberg report.
The report cited comments from Rajesh Agrawal, the country's commerce secretary, at a Mumbai event, who emphasized implementing such measures as part of trade discussions, especially with nations with a sizeable Indian population.
New Delhi's recent trade talks with the European Union and New Zealand included provisions to connect payment systems, the report said. However, Indian government officials had not previously shared the big-picture view with the public.
The news comes after the overseas Indian diaspora contributed $155 billion in foreign currency inflows for fiscal year 2025, insulating the rupee from external economic shocks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been advocating for such connectivity through the homegrown money transfer solution, the Unified Payments Interface, which is currently online in 11 nations, the report said.
(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)