Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman convened a meeting in New Delhi on February 26, 2024, where she urged regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ), to hold monthly virtual meetings with startups and fintech companies to address their concerns.
The meeting aimed to foster dialogue and exchange ideas to enhance operations and promote global competitiveness within the fintech sector. India, with approximately 10,244 fintech entities, ranks third globally in this sector’s size.
The Minsiter acknowledged the sector’s rapid growth in recent years and welcomed suggestions from fintech leaders to improve ease of doing business and ease of living for consumers.
Several action points emerged from the discussions, including conducting workshops with law enforcement agencies to address fintech concerns, streamlining patent examination processes, rationalising lending costs, simplifying and digitising KYC processes, and addressing cybercrime issues in the proposed Digital India Act.
India’s startup ecosystem has witnessed significant growth, with over 1.17 lakh startups recognized by DPIIT in 2023, generating more than 12.4 lakh jobs, and notable representation of women directors. The fintech sector, with over 10,000 companies, is the world’s third-largest and growing at a rate of 14% CAGR. Minister Sitharaman highlighted RBI’s draft framework for the recognition of Self-Regulatory Organizations ( SROs ) in the fintech sector.
The meeting was attended by various key figures, including Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, and high-ranking officials from departments such as the Department of Financial Services ( DFS ), the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade ( DPIIT ), and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ( MeitY ).
Additionally, founders, co-founders, managing directors, CEOs, and heads of various startups and fintech companies attended, alongside representatives from associations like the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment ( FACE ), Digital Lenders’ Association of India ( DLAI ), Payment Council of India ( PCI ), and Fintech Convergence Council ( FCC ).
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