*India to pitch central bank digital currencies to BRICS partners at meet*
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.economictimes.com/news/india/india-to-pitch-central-bank-digital-currencies-to-brics-partners-at-meet/amp_articleshow/133599649.cms
*India, which holds the BRICS presidency this year, is expected to present a proposal for seamless cross-border digital payments and the use of central bank digital currencies among the group’s members at a BRICS summit in New Delhi next month.*
*🇮🇳🇨🇦 INDIA–CANADA & UPI: INDIA’S DIGITAL PAYMENT POWER*
*🇮🇳 UPI launched in 2016 — just 10 years ago.*
▪︎ It has become the world’s largest real-time payment system, handling nearly half of global real-time payment volume.
▪︎ *66+ crore transactions every day;* July 2026 alone recorded around 2,366 crore transactions.
▪︎ *FY 2025–26:* 24,162 crore transactions, worth about ₹314 lakh crore.
▪︎ UPI’s transaction volume has surpassed Visa in daily transactions.
▪︎ *UPI:* 10 years vs. Visa/Mastercard: decades of global operations.
▪︎ 700+ banks are connected to UPI, compared with only 21 at launch.
▪︎ UPI is now operational in 11 countries, including UAE, France, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
▪︎ *🇨🇦 India and Canada are exploring cooperation on digital/cross-border payment systems, creating potential for easier India–Canada payments.*
▪︎ This could particularly benefit the large Indian student and diaspora community in Canada, making payments and remittances faster and more convenient.
▪︎ 🇮🇳 From a domestic innovation in 2016 to a global digital-payment success story in just one decade.
*UPI — India’s Digital Public Infrastructure going global. 🇮🇳🚀*
*BRICS — TOWARDS A NEW CROSS-BORDER PAYMENT SYSTEM*
▪︎ BRICS is pushing for stronger cross-border payment links between member countries.
▪︎ The focus is on connecting existing national payment systems, rather than immediately creating a single BRICS currency.
▪︎ Better payment links could make international transfers faster, cheaper and more efficient.
▪︎ BRICS countries are exploring greater use of local currencies in bilateral trade and payments.
▪︎ The proposal is reportedly focused more on payment connectivity than immediate de-dollarisation.
▪︎ 🇮🇳 India’s UPI is an important example of advanced, low-cost, real-time digital payment infrastructure.
▪︎ UPI has already expanded beyond India and is operational in multiple countries, demonstrating the potential of interoperable payment systems.
▪︎ Stronger BRICS payment connectivity could help businesses, exporters, importers and consumers settle cross-border transactions more easily.
▪︎ The broader objective is to build faster and more independent payment channels for international trade.
*🇮🇳 India’s digital payment innovation could play an important role in shaping the future of BRICS payment connectivity.*
