Trade between India and Malaysia can now be settled in Indian Rupees (INR) besides the current modes of settlements involving other currencies, an Indian foreign ministry statement announced on Saturday.
"This initiative by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is aimed at facilitating the growth of global trade and to support the interests of the global trading community in Indian Rupees (INR)," as per the statement.
It said that the India International Bank of Malaysia (IIBM) in Kuala Lumpur has "operationalized" a Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA) at the Union Bank of India, allowing payment in the Indian currency.
A circular published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last July approved the opening of the 'special Vostro' accounts in Indian banks, a move aimed at circumventing trade in the greenback and subsequently the US-led Western sanctions.
The Indian government said that the RBI had granted approval to open Vostro accounts to banks from 18 nations, which, besides Malaysia, include Russia, Germany, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
New Delhi has never supported unilateral economic sanctions imposed by certain Western nations. In the case of Russia, New Delhi has boosted its trade with Moscow to record levels since the Western sanctions kicked in last year, amid global volatility in food and fuel prices.
India's New Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) Encourages Rupee Trade
The announcement on Saturday came a day after New Delhi unveiled its new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for 2023-28.
The Indian commerce ministry has said that "encouraging" the internationalization of the rupee is one of the major objectives of the new trade policy, which also seeks to boost Indian goods and services' exports to $2 trillion by 2030.
Indian officials said that encouraging trade in rupees would help Indian exporters in case of economic contingencies in other countries, which include liquidity shocks such as currency failures or other economic contingencies.