Business · Trade · 4 hrs ago
India promotes rupee settlements to help partners facing currency shortages
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India wants to promote rupee-based trade settlements with partner countries.
The aim is to help countries short of hard currency keep importing essential goods from India.
She spoke in Bangkok during the IMF-World Bank annual meetings.
Sitharaman said she hoped India and the US would conclude their trade agreement soon; its first phase has been finalised and is undergoing legal drafting.
She also said trade barriers in China are blocking Indian exports, including medicines and perishable goods.
The comments come as India seeks to keep trade moving despite currency shortages and other global disruptions.
India wants to promote rupee-denominated trade settlements to help partner countries facing shortages of hard currency.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the mechanism could help keep essential goods flowing despite foreign-exchange constraints.
She made the remarks during an Atlantic Council interaction in Bangkok on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings.
Sitharaman also said she hoped India and the United States would conclude their trade agreement soon.
She cited non-tariff barriers and limited market access as major concerns in India’s trade with China.
- Who
- India, represented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is promoting the settlements.
- What
- India wants countries importing its goods to be able to settle payments in rupees or local currencies.
- When
- Friday, October 16, 2026.
- Where
- Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings.
- Why
- To help trading partners with hard-currency shortages continue importing essential goods and keep trade going.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Sitharaman said India had been the world’s fastest-growing major economy, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sitharaman discussed rupee settlements and trade issues during an interaction in Bangkok.
- Settlement currency
- Rupee or local currencies
- Proposed purpose
- Help countries facing hard-currency shortages continue importing goods
- Location
- Bangkok, Thailand
- India-US trade pact
- Its first phase had been finalised and was undergoing legal drafting, according to the article
- India-China trade concern
- Non-tariff barriers and restricted market access
What people are saying
One of the things that we in India want to do is settle in rupee, whatever the payment is to be done by those countries which import goods from us
Non-tariff barriers are the biggest hurdle in the trade between India and China