UPI transactions cross 2,400 crore month, becomes world’s largest real-time payment system: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become the world’s largest real-time payment system, with monthly transactions crossing 2,400 crore. Sitharaman was speaking after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data centre and Cybersecurity Training Institution in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The finance minister said the new RBI campus will house critical payment systems such as the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT). The training institute and research wing will also focus on building expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and data centre technologies.

“This RBI campus will house mission-critical payment systems, including RTGS and NEFT. Its training institute and research wing will build expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and data centre technologies,” Sitharaman said.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Jan Dhan accounts, financial inclusion

Sitharaman said the government has worked towards ensuring that every Indian household has access to banking services, noting that more than 59 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened.

She said these accounts have helped transfer money directly to beneficiaries without leakages.

“Banking facilities have been provided to the last man in the line; over 59 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened,” she said.

The finance minister also highlighted the scale of lending under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana. More than ₹43 lakh crore has been sanctioned through over 60 crore collateral-free loan accounts for micro and small entrepreneurs.

According to Sitharaman, several borrowers have repaid their loans and taken additional credit to expand their businesses. She added that women account for more than 65% of the scheme’s beneficiaries.

PM SVANidhi, insurance schemes also highlighted

Sitharaman said nearly 1.2 crore loans have been disbursed to street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme. She noted that some beneficiaries have repaid their loans and borrowed again to grow their businesses.

She also highlighted the role of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana in providing affordable insurance and pension benefits.

Sitharaman hails ‘Purvodaya’ policy

The finance minister also praised the government’s Purvodaya policy, which focuses on the development of eastern India.

“We will ensure that there is ‘Purvodaya se Sarvodaya’: when the East rises, its light reaches all of India,” she said.

In a social media post, Sitharaman noted that the new RBI campus in Bhubaneswar is located near the Sun Temple at Konark. Drawing a comparison with the Aditya Hridayam Stotram from the Ramayana, she said the RBI and its new campus would serve the country by protecting India’s financial systems and sustaining the flow of payments that supports the economy.

She also thanked the workers and engineers involved in building the campus and congratulated the RBI on the inauguration.