Overview

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the Foreign Currency Settlement System at GIFT IFSC to move foreign‑currency transactions from 36–48 hour delays to real‑time or near real‑time settlement.
• The FCSS is authorised within the IFSC framework under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, will start with US dollar transactions, and has Standard Chartered selected by CCIL IFSC as the settlement bank.
• Sitharaman cautioned that AI can be weaponised, disclosed she has seen deepfake videos of herself, and urged a whole‑of‑society response to protect trust.
• Regulators highlighted anti‑impersonation steps, including SEBI’s ‘SEBI Check’ verification and a dedicated verified UPI handle for registered intermediaries, with major brokers covering over 90% of investors and all mutual funds enabled.
• GFF 2025 is centered on AI’s role in finance, drawing an audience the organisers say exceeds 100,000, with features such as the NPCI–NVIDIA Bharat AI Experience Zone and remarks noting UPI processes about 20 billion transactions a month alongside the $1.3 billion India AI Mission.