Agreement reached for using India’s UPI in France: PM Modi

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prime minister Narendra Modi On Thursday, he said that India and France had agreed to use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in this European country, opening up a huge new market for Indian innovation.

Addressing the Indian community at La Seine Musicale, a performing arts center on an island in the Seine, Modi said very soon Indian tourists will be able to make rupee payments using UPI from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

“In France, an agreement has been made to use UPI in India… It will start from the Eiffel Tower, and now Indian tourists will be able to make payments in rupees, through UPI, at the Eiffel Tower,” the PM said.

Read also | The rise and rise of UPI

In 2022, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organization providing UPI services, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with France’s fast and secure online payment system, called Lyra.

in 2023, UPI and Singapore’s PayNow have signed an agreementallowing users in either country to conduct cross-border transactions.

UAE, Bhutan and Nepal have already adopted the UPI payment system.

NPCI International is in talks to expand UPI’s services in the United States, European countries, and West Asia.

Building the Thiruvalluvar Statue in France

Amid chants of “Modi, Modi” and “Bharat mata ki jai”, Modi also said that in a few weeks or months from now a statue of the great Tamil philosopher Thiruvalluvar will be built in Sergi district.

Modi said that France has decided to grant long-term visas for five years to students pursuing a master’s degree in France.

Read also | UPI declined by 0.9% in June, but still showed strong year-on-year growth.

The Prime Minister also appealed to the Indian community to invest in a big way in India because it is taking rapid steps to emerge as a developed country.

“Today every rating agency says India is a bright spot. You are investing in India now. This is the right time. Those who invest early will reap benefits,” Modi said.

Modi also recalled a personal attachment to France that goes back at least four decades when he became the first member of the Alliance Francaise Center in Ahmedabad in 1981.

“My attachment to France is very old, and I can never forget it. About 40 years ago, a French cultural center started in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and the first member of that very center spoke to you today,” said the Prime Minister.

Modi said that India is the mother of democracy and the mother of diversity.

“This is our greatest strength. India has more than 100 languages ​​and 1,000 dialects. Every day more than 32,000 newspapers are published in these languages,” the prime minister said.