Mumbai, October 7(HS): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday inaugurated a real-time foreign exchange settlement system at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), placing India alongside Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Manila in offering such advanced financial infrastructure.

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai, Sitharaman highlighted that the government has saved ₹4.31 lakh crore through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism, ensuring transparent and efficient delivery of welfare schemes.The new forex settlement system will enable transactions within GIFT City to be completed instantly, compared to the earlier settlement time of 36 to 54 hours.

“This system will significantly enhance India’s financial efficiency and global competitiveness,” she said.

During her address, the Finance Minister underscored India’s major initiatives in banking, finance, fintech, Aadhaar, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), DigiLocker, and artificial intelligence. She stressed that technology must act as a bridge, deepen trust, safeguard privacy, and uplift every citizen.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar