Dedollarisation: 22 countries exploring bilateral trade with India in rupees, says Nirmala Sitharaman

As many as 22 countries approached India to explore bilateral trade in rupees, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, adding that negotiations with them are underway.

“About 22 countries are negotiating and approaching us to see if bilateral trade can be held (in rupees),” Sitharaman told in an interview with NDTV.

Why do countries want to trade in INR?

Sitharaman said that these countries are willing to settle bilateral trade in the Indian rupee, “because many of… those countries are running short of dollar.”

In July last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued guidelines on cross-border trade transactions in INR.

Special Vostro Rupee Accounts (SRVAs) have been established in domestic banks to enable holders to invest surplus balances in Indian government securities. The facility has been provided by the RBI to help popularise the new arrangement.

The Central government had earlier told the parliament that the RBI has granted permission for banks from 18 countries to open SVRAs for the purpose of settling payments in INR.

‘India’s DPI earned praises from global leaders’

Speaking on India’s Digital Payments Infrastructure (DPI), Sitharaman said, “There’s a lot of interest in DPI. The way India has used digital infrastructure has earned praise from global leaders, including the World Bank.”

‘Credit the success of G20 Summit to PM Modi’

Sitharaman said she would give complete credit for the G20 Summit’s success to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I will completely credit the success of the G20 Summit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having a complete picture, much before we started, about India’s stature, India’s image. The vision of the PM played out and it benefitted all,” she said.

“This time India managed to have a consensus on all issues and I am very satisfied with the Delhi Declaration. The G20, essentially a financial forum, has to take collective action whether it is crypto, global debt, etc,” she added.