Unified Cross-Border Payments: UPI and AANI Link-Up

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has informed that the Indian and UAE governments are working on interlinking the UPI of India and the AANI of UAE. It will facilitate seamless cross-border transactions between two countries. This will benefit over 3 million Indians residing in the UAE enabling them to use the power of UPI and AANI.

UPI-AANI Integration

• India and the UAE are working on interlinking their national payment platforms—UPI (India) and AANI (UAE). 
• This integration aims to facilitate seamless cross-border transactions, allowing real-time remittances between the two countries.

Benefits

• This will benefit over 3 million Indians residing in UAE enabling them to use the power of UPI and AANI, for real-time cross-border remittance.
• Which is aligned with the vision of bringing speed, transparency, accessibility and cost efficiency in cross-border remittances.

Launch of JAYWAN card scheme

• To augment the relationship, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), via its international subsidiary NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) is collaborating with Al Etihad Payments (AEP), to enable creation of a domestic card scheme JAYWAN in UAE. 
• The JAYWAN card scheme is an outcome of deep collaboration between NIPL and AEP. 
• It is based on the RuPay card stack (developed and deployed at great scale by NPCI in India), which is shared with the AEP to enable UAE to be sovereign in the area of digital payments. 

Also other outcomes in HLJTFI

• The 12th Meeting of the India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments (HLJTFI) took place in Mumbai.

Presence 

• It was co-Chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
• His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

About HLJTFI

• The HLJTFI was established in 2013 to promote trade, investment and economic ties between India and the UAE. 
• Since its formation, it has provided an effective mechanism to discuss opportunities and prospects for further investments in India and the UAE, while acting as a forum to resolve issues faced by investors of the two countries.

Food Parks

The UAE has committed to investing around $2 billion in Indian food parks over the next 2-2.5 years. These parks will:

• Secure food security for the UAE.
• Increase incomes for Indian farmers.
• Promote job creation for Indian youth.
• A small working group involving the central and state governments of India and the UAE will focus on forming food corridors in a mission-mode.

Trade and Economic Growth

• Following the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), total trade between India and the UAE reached $84 billion in 2023-24, reducing the trade deficit from $22 billion to $12 billion.
• Non-oil bilateral trade rose to $28.2 billion in the first half of 2024, reflecting a 9.8% year-on-year increase.
• The UAE is now India’s fourth-largest foreign investor with $3.35 billion committed, while Indian investments in the UAE totaled $2.05 billion in 2023.
• Invest India Office: India will open its first Invest India office in Dubai, its second overseas office after Singapore. Similarly, the UAE will establish an office in New Delhi.

IIFT Campus in Dubai

• The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) will open its first overseas campus in Dubai, with short- and medium-term training programs set to begin by early 2025.

Bharat Mart 

• Slated for completion by 2026, Bharat Mart will offer access to free zone and mainland retail markets, benefiting Indian companies through world-class logistics. More than 9,000 expressions of interest have been received for 1,400 units covering 100,000 square meters.

ADIA Subsidiary at GIFT City 

• The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will establish a subsidiary at GIFT City, reaffirming UAE’s strong interest in India’s dynamic economy.

UPI

• The UPI (Unified Payment Interface) is a digital and real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• It was launched on April 11, 2016.
• It is designed to enable peer-to-peer inter-bank transfers through a single two-click factor authentication process. 

Features

• Unlike traditional methods, UPI simplifies transfers using the recipient’s UPI ID, be it a mobile number, QR code, or Virtual Payment Address, eliminating account numbers.
• It eliminates the need to enter bank details or other sensitive information each time a customer initiates a transaction.

AANI

• Aani is an instant payment platform that allows users to send and request money in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• Aani is an initiative of the Central Bank of the UAE under the National Payments Systems Strategy (NPSS).