Rupee: Interest of other countries increased in settling trade in rupees, and these four countries started talking to the government

Now other countries are also taking interest in the mechanism of settlement of international trade in the Indian Rupee. Tajikistan, Cuba, Luxembourg, and Sudan have started talking to India to use the mechanism. This is being claimed in media reports by quoting official documents. Russia has already started using this mechanism after sanctions were imposed on Moscow after the war with Ukraine.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July had set up a mechanism to settle international trade in rupees instead of dollars. A government official and a source familiar with the development have said that the government is trying to bring into the system those countries which are short of dollars. The sources declined to be named because the matter is top secret. Media reports based on documents say that four countries have shown interest in opening special rupee accounts, called Vostro accounts. However, the participating banks in India have not yet provided these facilities. Opening these accounts requires approval from the Reserve Bank of India.

Documents show that Mauritius and Sri Lanka have also shown interest in settling international trade in Indian rupees and have seen their special Vostro accounts approved by the RBI. According to the document, India's central bank has approved banks to open 12 vostro accounts for trading in rupees with Russia. Six other accounts have been authorized, including five for trade with Sri Lanka and one for trade with Mauritius, according to the documents. However, till now nothing has been officially said in this matter by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, and RBI.

According to media reports, India is in talks with major trading partners, including major oil suppliers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to settle international trade in rupees instead of dollars.

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