Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is the best destination for fintech companies and startups due to the rise of innovation and enterprise, while delivering the keynote address at the Fintech Festival in Singapore on Wednesday.
“It has turned India into a leading fintech and startup nation in the world. The future of fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India. I say this to all the fintech companies and startups – India is your best destination,” said the Prime Minister, after launching the APIX launch.
He told the startups “To increase your Venture Capital or VC funding by 10 percent, tell the investors you run a ‘platform’, not a regular business. If you want to increase your VC funding by 20 percent, tell the investors that you are operating in the ‘fintech space’. But, if you really want the investors to empty their pockets, tell them that you are using ‘blockchain.'”
He further asserted that such instances reflect the excitement and promise of emerging technologies to transform the world of finance.
Terming Fintech Festival as a ‘celebration of belief’, Modi said that financial revolution is sweeping through India and transforming the lives of 1.3 billion people.
ALSO READ: Fintech cos and startups – India is your best destination
“We see inspiring stories of extraordinary innovation changing ordinary lives. But, there is much to be done. Our focus should be on development for all through development of the marginalised,” he said.
Highlights of his speech:
- Booming digital transactions are aiding growth of the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector.
- RuPay is bringing payment cards within the reach of all.
- Over 250 million of these are with those who did not have a bank account 4 years ago.
- Digital transactions are growing – from cards to QRs and wallets
- 128 banks in India are connected to UPI. Transactions on UPI grew 1500 times in the last 24 months. Every month, the value of transaction is growing by over 30 per cent
- For those with mobile and internet, the BHIM-UPI is the world’s most sophisticated, simple and seamless platform for payments between accounts, using a virtual payment address.
- For those who have a mobile, but no internet, there is U.S.S.D. system in 12 languages.
- And, for those who have neither mobile nor internet, there is Aadhar Enabled Payment System, which uses biometrics. It has already registered a billion transactions and grown six-fold in two years.
- Digital payments are a boost to the nation’s economy as power of fintech has enabled the digital connectivity revolution at an unprecedented speed and scale.
- As many as 330 million new bank accounts have been opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana, Modi added.
- Technological advances introduce transparency and eliminates corruption.
This is the third edition of the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF), which was launched in the year 2016.
Eighteen Indian fintech firms are participating in the festival, while FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) and Monetary Authority of Singapore are the principal aggregators. The India Pavilion will have the highest number of companies among the 16 countries at the event.
Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos on our AI-powered smart news genie