CBDC (e-Rupee) and UPI's Global Expansion
8 mentions in the news, newest first.
Read the note on this topic →- 2026-09-11
RBI and SEBI launch Demat 2.0 pilot for tokenised corporate bonds
Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra and Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey launched the Demat 2.0 pilot for tokenised corporate bonds at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai on 10 September 2026. Three companies issued tokenised bonds under the pilot using distributed ledger technology, REC Limited and Larsen & Toubro each raising Rs 500 crore and IIFL raising Rs 25 crore, taking the total to about Rs 1,025 crore. Settlement for the tokenised bonds uses the central bank digital currency, the digital rupee issued by the RBI, which the regulators said allows faster and more transparent transactions than the conventional demat system. SEBI said the tokenisation framework could later extend beyond corporate bonds to equities, mutual fund units and electronic gold receipts.
- 2026-09-11
RBI Governor unveils UPI Tap and Pay and the AI powered MyUPI platform
At the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai on 10 September 2026, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra unveiled UPI Tap and Pay, which lets users make near field communication based UPI payments by tapping a compatible smartphone on a point of sale terminal, permitting PIN less transactions up to Rs 5,000. The National Payments Corporation of India also launched MyUPI, a unified window showing a user's UPI transactions and Autopay mandates across banks and apps, including a Safety Switch that lets a user instantly decline UPI debit transactions if they suspect their account is compromised. Underlying these features is FiMI, Finance Model for India, a domain specific language model NPCI built to natively understand India's payment systems, transaction disputes and mandate management. Malhotra said trust takes years to build but can be lost quickly, and urged fintech firms to guard against risks from opacity, exclusion and cybersecurity.
- 2026-09-10
Final BRICS Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' meeting held in Mumbai ahead of the summit
The final BRICS Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' meeting under India's BRICS chairship was held in Mumbai on 9 and 10 September 2026, guided by the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra took part in the deliberations, which followed an earlier round of the same Finance Track meeting held in Jaipur in August 2026. The Mumbai meeting comes just days ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, which India will host in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026.
- 2026-09-05
Marco Rubio visit likely in October, Quad summit on G20 margins in US being explored
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is likely to visit India in October 2026, while officials from India, the United States, Japan and Australia are exploring a possible Quad leaders' summit on the margins of the G20 summit in December, The Indian Express reported on 5 September 2026. The G20 summit, held under the US presidency, is scheduled for 14 and 15 December 2026 at the Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Florida. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri hosted a meeting of Quad Sherpas in New Delhi on 4 September 2026, which reviewed progress on maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance cooperation. India was originally due to host the Quad summit, but plans shifted after ties with Washington were strained by tariffs and by President Trump's claims of mediating between India and Pakistan.
- 2026-09-01
PM Modi attends 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek, marks 25 years of the grouping
Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, to attend the 26th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on 31 August and 1 September 2026, held to mark 25 years since the SCO's founding. He said India looked forward to advancing its vision for the region anchored in Security, Connectivity and Opportunity, building on India's stated SCO priorities set out in 2018 of security, economic development, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and environmental protection. The summit, attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin among other leaders, was expected to adopt the Bishkek Declaration and around two dozen other outcome documents. For India, the Bishkek gathering also served as a lead up to the BRICS summit it will host in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026.
- 2026-08-28
UPI completes 10 years, transaction volume up nearly 13,000 fold
The Unified Payments Interface, launched by the National Payments Corporation of India on 25 August 2016, completed 10 years this week. The Union Finance Ministry said UPI's annual transaction volume rose from 1.78 crore in 2016 to 17 to more than 24,162 crore in 2025 to 26, a nearly 13,000 fold increase, while transaction value rose from about 0.07 lakh crore rupees to approximately 314 lakh crore rupees over the same period, a more than 4,000 fold rise. UPI is now operational in 11 countries, and the International Monetary Fund has recognised it as the world's largest real time payment system by transaction volume.
- 2026-08-21
Digital BRICS Forum held in Pune ahead of Communications Ministers' Meeting
Ministerial delegations from BRICS countries arrived in Pune on 20 August 2026 for the Digital BRICS Forum and Expo, held a day ahead of the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting on 21 August, closing out India's five-day BRICS ICT Track. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomed the delegations, while Minister of State Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani highlighted India's Digital Public Infrastructure model as an open, interoperable framework other countries could adapt. Thematic panels covered cybersecurity and child online protection, and sustainable, resilient digital ecosystems including satellite connectivity.
- 2026-08-17
India hosts the BRICS ICT Track in Pune
The Department of Telecommunications is hosting the BRICS Information and Communication Technologies Track in Pune from 17 to 21 August 2026, under India's 2026 BRICS chairship. Themed "Innovate, Cooperate and Transform for a Resilient Future," it includes the 7th BRICS ICT Working Group Meeting, the Digital BRICS Forum and Expo on 20 August, and the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting on 21 August.