Singer Mika Singh, while he was in Doha recently, used Indian currency while shopping at a luxury store. Singh, was at the Doha airport when he made a purchase at the Louis Vuitton store.
“Good morning. I felt so proud to be able to use Indian rupees whilst shopping at #Dohaairport in the @LouisVuitton store. You can even use rupees in any restaurant.. Isn’t that wonderful? A massive salute to @narendramodi saab for enabling us to use our money like dollars,” he tweeted. Twitterati praised Mika Singh for sharing it online.
“Indian currency getting stronger,” commented a user. While some users commented that Indian currency could be used earlier too, some others enquired whether the singer was carrying more than INR 25,000 in cash.
Countries that accept Indian rupees as payment include Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda and the United Kingdom. Each country has its own rule and cap on how the denomination of Indian currency is to be used. As of February, India's digital payment technology UPI was approved in countries like Thailand and Singapore.
The government has been taking steps to make UPI international. The government announced in March that Indians in ten countries including the UK and France would be able to access UPI from April 30.