Addressing the gathering on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi elaborated on the government's continued support to the fintech industry through crucial policy reforms, like abolition of the Angel Tax. He also called upon the regulators to introduce more measures against use of cyber fraud which, he said, is a huge menace to startups.
Addressing the Global Fintech Fest-2024, co-organized by the Payments Council of India, the National Payments Corporation of India, and the Fintech Convergence Council, Modi hailed the fintech companies as facilitators of democratic financial services. He said the sector had seen investments worth $31 billion over the last decade and has so far achieved an in-depth reduction in shadow economy.
Today, there is a sense of festival in the country's domestic economy and capital markets," Modi said. He also added that impediments such as Angel Tax have been removed, apart from creating an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in research and innovation and enforcing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, among others to help the fintech industry.
Fintech, loosely defined as a broad term for technology used to offer financial services, has led to a great formalization of the financial system. Modi pressed on the need to combat cyber fraud and improve digital literacy as a way of promoting continued growth in fintech and startups.
The Prime Minister also warned about the parallel economies that threaten the world and credited fintech for reducing the rents inbuilt into economies-arguably a boost to transparency and efficiency. He has quoted the example of the Direct Benefit Transfer system for bringing more transparency, accompanied by less leakage into Government schemes.
Modi said the trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhar, and Mobile has consigned the mantra 'Cash is King' to oblivion, due to which India now accounts for a large fraction of global digital transactions. He spoke about how UPI represents the model for fintech innovation and enables 24*7 banking services across the country, irrespective of weather conditions.
He also congratulated fintech on making financial services accessible, such as ready loans, credit cards, investments, and insurance. He pointed toward the PM SVANidhi scheme, through which street vendors were able to get collateral-free loans and increase their business by a digital transaction.
Emphasising that sustainable economic growth remains India's top priority, Modi said the government was committed to creating strong, transparent, and efficient financial systems with state-of-the-art technology support and regulatory frameworks. The festival sees the participation of about 800 delegates comprising policymakers, regulators, senior bankers, industry leaders, and academics from India and overseas.
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