RuPay card in Bahrain soon: PM Modi
Manama, Aug 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the RuPay card will soon be launched in Bahrain after India and the Gulf nation signed a MoU to allow the Indian expatriates hassle-free money transfer at cheaper costs.
RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments.
"I am glad that you will be able to transact in Bahrain soon with RuPay card. Today there is a MoU signed for use of RuPay card," the prime minister told thousands of Indians assembled at the Bahrain National Stadium here.
"Our intention is to provide you the facility to send money to your home in India through RuPay Card. Now you will be able to say that "Bahrain - Pay with RuPay," he said.
This will also allow the Indian community in Bahrain to transact at cheaper, he said.
RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions.
Earlier in the day, Modi launched the RuPay card in Abu Dhabi, making the UAE the first country in the Middle East to initiate the Indian indigenous system of electronic payment.
India has already launched the RuPay card in Singapore, Bhutan and the UAE.
The UAE was added to the list on Saturday during the prime minister's visit to Abu Dhabi.
RuPay is a highly secure network that protects against cyberhacks and is India's version of Master Card and Visa.
Today, there are close to 500 million RuPay cards in circulation in India.
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Brittas urges Parliament resolution on Iran conflict, recalls Vajpayee-era Iraq war motion
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) MP John Brittas on Tuesday cited Parliament's 2003 unanimous resolution under then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee condemning the Iraq war, to urge the government to move a similar motion on the Iran conflict.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during zero hour, Brittas called for a "united and unanimous voice" of Parliament against what he described as unilateral and illegal wars by the US and Israel on Iran, saying India should not remain silent.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in the Lok Sabha on Monday, he said key economic concerns and diaspora issues were raised but there was no reference to the broader conflict, which he said warranted a clear position from India.
"What was missing was the silence on this unilateral, immoral, illegal war that has been unleashed by the United States and Israel," he said.
The Prime Minister, he said, called for a unanimous and united voice from the Parliament.
Addressing chairman C P Radhakrishnan who was a member of the Lok Sabha in 2003, he said at that time, both the Houses of Parliament when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, passed joint, unanimous resolution condemning the war against Iraq by the United States.
"I wish that Indian Parliament, as the Prime Minister said, should express unanimously a united voice," he said. "Let the government bring a resolution which should be passed by both the Houses."
Brittas said India has termed the attacks on Gulf countries by Iran as egregious.
"But what about the genesis of this crisis?" he asked. "I wish that the government does not go by the advice of (Congress leader) Shashi Tharoor who said that silence is statecraft. I wish that they should be guided by the advice from (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge not from Shahi Tharoor."
Kharge has repeatedly demanded an immediate short-duration discussion on the Iran war and its fallout on India.
"I wish that India, being a leader of the non-alignment nations, should feel that silence is not a solution. We have to make sure that our voice is heard. And it is not only for the selfish interest of the nation but for the interest of the larger humanity. So I call on the government to come with a resolution," Brittas said.
He also flagged concerns over Indians affected by the situation, including around 700 seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, and urged the government to put in place a mechanism to facilitate communication with their families.
Brittas sought a rehabilitation package for Gulf returnees, highlighting the scale of remittances to India and their importance to Kerala's economy.
Kerala gets almost Rs 2.2 lakh crore - one third of the state's gross domestic product - in remittances, he said.
Prime Minister Modi in his address in Lok Sabha on Monday talked about economic fall out of the war in Iran, disruptions in supply chain, impact on daily lives of people, serious situation on the LPG front and the condition of the Indian diaspora but was silent on military strikes launched by the US and Israel on Iran on February 28, which triggered a wider conflict in the region.
