Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a “financial technology revolution” on Friday to realize the financial empowerment of every citizen, saying that the country has made significant progress in this regard because of people’s trust in India’s digital ecosystem.

“Inclusive finance is the driving force of the fintech revolution,” Prime Minister Modi said, adding that fintech relies on the four pillars of income, investment, insurance and institutional credit.

He made the above remarks while speaking in a virtual manner at the InFinity Forum of the International Financial Services Center Authority (IFSCA) financial technology event.

He said that when income grows, investment becomes possible, adding that insurance coverage can improve risk-bearing capacity and investment. Modi also said that institutional credit provides wings for expansion, and India has made efforts in each of these pillars.

The Prime Minister of India pointed out that the success of financial technology lies in its inclusiveness and common interests. “The huge foundation becomes the perfect springboard for fintech innovation. India’s fintech industry is innovating to increase everyone’s access to financing and a formal credit system in the country,” he said. “Now, it’s time to turn these fintech initiatives into a fintech revolution. A revolution that will help realize the financial empowerment of every citizen of the country,” Modi said.

He cited several initiatives his government has taken to empower people through financial technology. In the past seven years, India has almost universalized banking, with 430 million Jan Dhan accounts. He said that so far, 690 million RuPay cards have been issued, 1.3 billion transactions were completed last year, and the unified payment interface (UPI) developed in China has processed approximately 4.2 billion transactions last month. Companies upload nearly 300 million invoices on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) portal each month, involving more than $12 billion in payments.

“Despite the [Covid-19] pandemic, there are still about 1.5 million train tickets booked online every day. Last year, FASTag processed 1.3 billion seamless transactions. PM Svanidhi is providing credit to small suppliers across the country. e-RUPI Make targeted delivery of designated services possible without leakage. I can go on and on, these are just a few examples of the scale and scope of Indian fintech,” he said.

“India has proven to the world that it is second to none when it comes to adopting technology or innovating around technology. Transformation under Digital India has opened the door to the application of fintech innovation to governance,” he said.

News Source : Hindustan Times