Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted India’s fintech achievements at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai. He also emphasized the role of the sector in enhancing financial inclusion and promoting innovation. He praised the industry for making financial services accessible to millions of people and driving economic growth. Modi started his address by saying that this is the festive season in India. We have just celebrated Janmashtami and look at the happiness, there is a festive atmosphere in our economy and our market. There is a festive mood in this Global Fintech Fest, and that too in the city of dreams, Mumbai.
Modi said there was a time when people used to be amazed by our cultural diversity. Now, people come to India and are amazed by our fintech diversity too! From landing at the airport to experiencing street food and shopping, India’s fintech revolution is visible everywhere. He said that in the last 10 years, more than $31 billion has been invested in the fintech space. Our fintech startups have grown by 500% in 10 years. Cheap mobile phones, cheap data and zero balance Jan Dhan bank accounts have done wonders in India.
He said that in just a decade, the number of broadband users in India has increased from 6 crores to about 94 crores. Today, there is hardly any Indian above 18 years of age who does not have his digital identity i.e. Aadhaar card. He said that today more than 53 crore people have Jan Dhan bank accounts. That means in 10 years we have connected a population equal to the entire European Union to the banking system.
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The Prime Minister said that this trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile has accelerated another transformation. People once used to say that cash is king, today almost half of the world’s real-time digital transactions happen in India. India’s UPI has become a great example of FinTech all over the world. He said that even during such a big crisis of Corona, India was among those countries of the world where our banking services continued without any problem. He said that I have some expectations from the regulators…we need to take big steps to prevent cyber fraud and increase digital understanding.
He said that when Goddess Saraswati was imparting knowledge, some self-proclaimed experts were already expressing doubts! They would question how the fintech revolution could happen…they would even be asking a chaiwala like me! Yet, in just a decade, India has seen a remarkable transformation. Significantly, the number of broadband users has increased from 6 crores to nearly 94 crores. Today, almost every Indian above the age of 18 has a digital identity in the form of an Aadhaar card. In addition, more than 53 crore people have opened Jan Dhan bank accounts, effectively integrating a population equivalent to the entire European Union into the banking system.
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He said that loans worth more than Rs 27 lakh crore were disbursed under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which is the world’s largest microfinance scheme. He also claimed that the fintech sector has played an important role in democratizing financial services, making access to credit easy and inclusive. He said that financial technology has helped bridge the gap between villages and cities. He said that the government is taking all steps at the policy level to help the fintech sector and ‘Angel Tax’ has also been abolished.
