The Prime Minister was addressing the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024, jointly organised by the Payments Council of India, the National Payments Corporation of India and the Fintech Convergence Council.
He said the domestic economy and the capital market are in a celebratory mood at a time when the nation is also going through a festive period.
Modi underlined that the government is making all necessary changes on the policy level to assist the fintech sector and gave examples of doing away with Angel Tax, allocating Rs 1 lakh crore to encourage research and innovation in the country and implementing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.
Broadly, fintech refers to entities utilising technologies for providing financial services.
Expressing the need to put an end to cyber fraud, he urged the regulators to take major initiatives to boost digital literacy. It is equally important to ensure cyber fraud does not come in the way of the growth of fintech and startups in the country, Modi said. In his speech, the Prime Minister also cautioned about the dangers of a parallel economy for the world.
Fintech, he said, has played an impactful role in denting such a system and credited the emergence of transparency.
He said that digital technology has introduced transparency in India and gave the example of the implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer used in hundreds of government schemes that has prevented leakages in the system.
“Today, people can see the benefits of aligning with the formal banking system,” he said.
Modi further said the trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile have broken down the mentality of ‘Cash is King’ and made way for approximately half of the digital transactions in the world taking place in India.
“India’s UPI has become a major example of fintech in the world,” he said, adding that it has enabled 24X7 banking services in every village and city in all weather conditions.
Underlining the role of fintech in democratising financial services, the Prime Minister gave examples of readily available loans, credit cards, investments and insurance.
He said that fintech has made access to credit easy and inclusive, and gave the example of PM SVANidhi scheme that has enabled street vendors to avail collateral-free loans and further expand their business with the help of digital transactions.
“Sustainable economic growth is India’s priority today,” he said and emphasised that the government is creating robust, transparent and efficient systems to strengthen financial markets with advanced technologies and regulatory frameworks.
About 800 speakers, including policymakers, regulators, senior bankers, industry captains, and academicians, from India and other countries are participating in the fest.
