ePaisa Payment Gateway: India joins hands with Russia to bypass Western sanctions for two main reasons｜Kyoto Brewing Hall

By joining hands with Russia to bypass Western sanctions, India is doing it for two main reasons｜Kyoto Brewery

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) meets Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) on 6 December 2021 in New Delhi. India has hailed Indo-Russian relations as "one of the most stable since the Second World War", laying the groundwork for continued co-operation at this particular time. Photo from Jane's Xinhua News Agency.

Russian and Indian media outlets have reported that the Indian government is considering a Russian proposal to use a bilateral payment system developed by Russia's Central Bank. The plan involves the use of Russia's financial communication system, SPFS, for payments denominated in Indian rupees and Russian rubles.

It is learnt that the plan may be discussed during the two-day visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in India on March 31 after concluding his visit to China.

Sources close to the matter also said that under the scheme, rubles will be deposited in Indian banks and converted into rupees and vice versa. Russia is also looking to link India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with Russia's MIR payment system for seamless use of Indian and Russian bank cards.

Establishment of a rupee-ruble bilateral payment mechanism was a major part of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to India. Picture.