Latest news with #FinancialInclusionandFintechSummit
Hans India
7 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Fintechs must curb fraud with AI use, ensure financial inclusion: DFS Secretary
New Delhi: Fintech companies should leverage their strengths and innovation by not only extending financial services to the masses but also to develop robust solutions against fraud, hacking, and other cyber threats -- making greater use of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), a top government official said on Monday. With the country's digital payments ecosystem rapidly maturing, its influence has begun to extend beyond national borders, reaching Global South, said Nagaraju Maddirala, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS). Addressing the inaugural session of the third 'Financial Inclusion and Fintech Summit' by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, he emphasised the critical role of fintechs in advancing financial inclusion and consumer protection. Nagaraju reaffirmed the government's strong commitment to financial inclusion and the democratisation of credit access. He highlighted the government's sustained efforts in fostering a supportive ecosystem for fintech innovation, underpinned by a strong digital infrastructure and transformative welfare schemes. Notable among these are the Jan Dhan Yojana and Jan Suraksha Schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana and the Atal Pension Yojana, which have significantly expanded the reach of formal financial services. He also noted that a substantial portion of these financial services and loans have been accessed by women, thereby contributing to women's empowerment and inclusive economic growth. 'It is a matter of great pride for every Indian that India is far, far ahead of many countries in payment systems, and we have, in fact, been trying to expand our digital payment ecosystem to several other countries. We have a presence in seven countries and are also in discussions with a few more,' Nagaraju told the gathering. Shaji KV, Chairman of NABARD, emphasised that India's journey toward Viksit Bharat can gain momentum only when the masses — particularly the rural population — become active stakeholders in the nation's growth story. He pointed out that the rising aspirations within rural communities can be effectively addressed through greater efficiency in financial operations, enabled by fintech innovations. Shaji highlighted the need for disruptive innovation in the sector and called for focused efforts to address challenges such as interoperability and KYC norms with economic activities. He underscored the transformative potential of digital public infrastructure, especially in sectors like agritech, fisheries tech, and cooperative tech, which can play a crucial role in enhancing per capita rural incomes through scalable digital applications. He also mentioned the planned integration of all Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) onto a common digital infrastructure and noted that NABARD is actively working on digitizing agricultural value chains to bridge the rural–urban divide. Additionally, he stressed the importance of women's empowerment through fintech-driven financial access and inclusion. According to Prashant Kumar. Chair, CII National Committee on Fintech, and Managing Director and CEO, YES BANK, as India advances towards Viksit Bharat, inclusive economic growth, particularly for marginalised communities, has remained the central focus and has led to measurable progress in areas such as poverty reduction, education, healthcare and infrastructure development.
Mint
7 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Financial services secretary urges fintechs to drive financial inclusion
To make fintech the prime vehicle for achieving financial inclusion, the Centre wants them to focus on developing solutions for offline payments, voice-based authorization tools, poor connectivity coverage systems, and cross-border payment facilities. Financial services secretary M. Nagaraju, speaking at the CII's Financial Inclusion and Fintech Summit in New Delhi on 7 July, also asked them to innovate low-cost but effective cybersecurity and anti-hacking solutions and focus on tamper-proofing their financial apps. '…fintech will actually drive the financial inclusion that is a key driver of both economic development as well as poverty alleviation all over the world. In fact, seven out of 17 SDGs (sustainable development goals) are related to financial inclusion,' Nagaraju said. He said that for fintech to become the prime vehicle for financial inclusion, it was important that these entities make people more informed by providing financial education and ensuring that consumers using their systems are not unfairly treated. 'I think fintechs have a great opportunity to take financial education to a large number of people in the country. Actually, one of the reasons why many people fall victim to frauds, or cyber frauds, is because of the lack of financial education…The second thing, I think, fintechs should look at is consumer protection. Ensure that consumers using your ecosystem are not unfairly treated, and their complaints are addressed properly, and they are protected from fraud," the secretary said. Nagaraju said the first step to financial inclusion was providing a bank account. According to the World Bank's Global Findex, prior to the launch of the Jan Dhan Yojana in 2014, 35% of adults in India had a bank account. This number rose to 90% in 2021, especially due to the government scheme. 'Today, we have 556 million accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) with a deposit base of ₹ 2.6 trillion. And, two-thirds of those accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas, and 56% are held by women,' Nagaraju said. He said the government's efforts to cover the unbanked and uncovered villages through the PMJDY had borne results, with June data indicating that 99.9% villages are now covered either by a bank branch or BC (business correspondent) or IPPB (India Post Payments Bank), within a five-kilometre distance. "This is again a remarkable achievement for our country. Total map banking touch points are now 2.13 million, which include branches, BCs, ATMs, and IPPBs,' he said. The government also launched three social security schemes: the PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), and the Atal Pension Yojana (APY). These schemes aimed to encourage people in lower social ranks to appreciate the importance of social security in terms of insurance and pension cover. 'The cumulative enrolment in the three schemes as of June was 515 million (PMSBY), 239 million (PMJJBY) and 79 million (APY). This is one thing that brought a large number of people into financial inclusion. And when we talk about financial inclusion without considering this segment of the population, it has no meaning,' Nagaraju said. The secretary also provided details of the PM Mudra Yojana, where, since the scheme's launch in 2015, 535 million loan applications have been approved, and ₹ 34.6 trillion has been sanctioned, with 68% of loans going to women. In the case of the Stand Up India scheme, 275,000 loans have been sanctioned, and ₹ 62,000 crore has been disbursed, with 83% of loans going to women. '…women have played an important role in accessing financial inclusion. It actually shows the progress the country is achieving, in reaching, in achieving equality between men and women, and also women's empowerment,' he said. The secretary also said financial inclusion is also followed in informal set criteria, and the government's two schemes—PM Svanidhi and PM Vishwakarma (launched in April 2024)—have done very well. 'Till now, we have sanctioned 450,000 loans, and ₹ 3.6 trillion has been disbursed in the PM Vishwakarma scheme,' the secretary said.
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Business Standard
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
DFS Secretary urges fintechs to expand inclusion, use AI for security
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary M Nagaraju on Monday urged fintech companies to leverage their strengths and innovation not only to extend financial services to the masses but also to develop robust solutions against fraud, hacking and other cyber threats—making greater use of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). 'There is a critical role of fintechs in advancing financial inclusion and consumer protection,' said Nagaraju during the inaugural session of the third Financial Inclusion and Fintech Summit, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi. Nagaraju also highlighted that financial inclusion is increasingly recognised as a major factor in economic growth and poverty alleviation globally. He pointed out that seven of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are directly connected to financial inclusion. This, he said, underscores the importance of improving access to financial services for unbanked and under-served populations. Nagaraju further highlighted the government's sustained efforts in fostering a supportive ecosystem for fintech innovation, underpinned by strong digital infrastructure and transformative welfare schemes. Notable among these are the Jan Dhan Yojana and Jan Suraksha Schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana and the Atal Pension Yojana, which have significantly expanded the reach of formal financial services. In response to this situation, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched in 2014 to improve financial access. Now, 99 per cent of adults in India have bank accounts. This scheme enabled lakhs of Indians to open bank accounts and integrate into the formal financial system, he added. At the same event, Shaji KV, Chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), emphasised that India's journey towards Viksit Bharat can gain momentum only when the masses—particularly the rural population—become active stakeholders in the nation's growth story. He said the rising aspirations within rural communities can be effectively addressed through greater efficiency in financial operations, enabled by fintech innovations. Shaji further highlighted the need for disruptive innovation in the sector and called for focused efforts to address challenges such as interoperability and Know Your Customer (KYC) norms in line with economic activities. He underscored the transformative potential of digital public infrastructure, especially in sectors such as agritech, fisheries tech and cooperative tech, which can play a crucial role in enhancing per capita rural incomes through scalable digital applications.
