‘Digital India’ was the goal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And, since 2014, when the BJP formed government at the Centre, steps have been taken to ensure its benefits keeping in mind the last man standing in row.
Meanwhile, taking PM Modi's vision of taking UPI global, India on Friday formally launched UPI at the iconic Eiffel Tower in France.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an Indian instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016.
"UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception. Implementing PM @narendramodi's announcement & the vision of taking UPI global," the official X handle of India's Embassy in France posted along with the photos of the event.
"Great to see this- it marks a significant step towards taking UPI global. This is a wonderful example of encouraging digital payments and fostering stronger ties," wrote PM Modi while replying to the post by India's Embassy in France.
The NPCI said in a statement that its arm NPCI International Payments (NIPL) has tied up with French e-commerce and proximity payments Lyra, which will help ensure that the UPI payment mechanism is accepted in the European country, starting with the Eiffel Tower, PTI reported.
Indian tourists reportedly rank as the second largest group of international visitors to the Eiffel Tower, at present. With this launch of UPI, Indian tourists can simply scan a QR code generated on the merchant's website and initiate a payment.
Eiffel Tower is the first merchant to offer UPI payments in France, and the service will soon be extended to other merchants in the tourism and retail space across France and Europe, the news agency reported.