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Informist, Friday, Aug 30, 2024

 

--PM Modi: Improving fincl mkts via advanced technology

--PM Modi: Sustainable econ growth is govt's priority

--PM Modi: Want more steps from regulators to promote digital literacy

--PM Modi: Want more steps from regulators to curb digital frauds

--CONTEXT: Prime Minister Modi at Global Fintech Fest

--PM Modi: India proposed global AI framework to avoid its misuse

--RBI Das: Held many interactions with fintech players in last 1 yr 

 

NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said sustainable economic growth is the top priority of his government and expressed the hope that the fintech sector will play a crucial role in improving the quality of life of citizens.

 

India's GDP is projected to grow at the rate of 7.2% in the current financial year started April, as per the Reserve Bank of India's estimate. The finance ministry expects the GDP growth to be in the range of 6.5-7.0% this year.

 

The government is supporting sustainable growth with green finance and is making strong, transparent and efficient system, Modi said at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai. "In the last 10 years, there has been an investment of $31 bln in the fintech sector. The number of fintech startups increased by 500%. The broadband users increased from 60 mln to 940 mln in last 10 years," he said.

 

Modi lauded the fintech sector for improving the financial markets and sought more steps from regulators to promote digital literacy. He also asserted that more steps were needed to curb cyber frauds.

 

The Indian central bank that regulates the financial sector has held several interactions with 

representatives from the fintech sector in the last one year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said at the same event.

 

The prime minister said the government is making several changes at policy level to promote startups in the fintech sector, citing removal of the angel tax in the Budget for 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) last month.

 

Underlining the threats posed by artificial intelligence, Modi said India has proposed a global framework on the technology to avoid its misuse.

 

He called Unified Payment Interface the biggest example of fintech and said that half of the global digital transactions happen in India today. The Indian central bank is also working to integrate India's UPI with the equivalent fast payment system of other nations to bring ease in overseas remittances as well as merchant payments. 

 

India has so far integrated UPI with the fast payment systems of France, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bhutan, and Mauritius, among others. Last week, Modi had announced that India will link its UPI with Malaysia's fast payment system, PayNet.

 

The prime minister appreciated the social change brought by the fintech sector in the country by bridging the gap between the rural and urban areas. It has facilitated in making financial services democratic and promoted inclusive access to credit, Modi said. He added that the fintech revolution has also assisted the government in implementing its financial inclusion schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. 

 

Over 530 mln bank accounts have been opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana in the last 10 years, Modi said. "This is more than the entire population of the European Union."

 

The government has been running the Jan Dhan Yojana for a decade now. Modi had launched the scheme on Aug 28, 2014. The scheme was scheduled to end in 2018, but then it was extended with the focus on opening bank accounts for every unbanked adult. 

 

Out of the 530 mln Jan Dhan accounts, over 290 mln bank accounts belong to women, Modi said. He also said that 70?neficiaries under the Mudra scheme are women. Launched in April 2015, the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana extends collateral-free institutional loans up to 1 mln rupees to unfunded micro, small business units for manufacturing, trading, services sector and also for agricultural activities.

 

Taking a dig at the Opposition, Modi said "They used to question the government that people in rural areas don't have bank accounts, mobile connections. How there will be a fintech revolution."  End

 

US$1 = 83.86 rupees

 

Reported by Kuldeep Singh and Krity Ambey

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

 

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