According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a country’s economy is only as advanced as its financial system. The Indian PM expects a revolution in the country’s economy to come from financial technology.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that a country’s economy is only as advanced as its banking system, and that fintech will usher in a financial revolution.
Modi stated that the banking industry has become a vehicle for good governance and improved service delivery, and that Digital Banking Units (DBUs) would increase financial inclusion and improve the banking experience for customers.
“If Jan Dhan accounts laid the groundwork for financial inclusion in the country, then fintech will lay the groundwork for financial revolution,” he remarked on Sunday while dedicating 75 DBUs throughout the country. DBUs are physical locations that offer services such as account opening, balance checks, cash transfers, fixed deposit investments, loan applications, credit and debit card applications, and tax and bill payments, among other things.
Modi credited India’s continuous economic development to the present government’s attempts to replace pre-2014 “phone banking” with “digital banking.”
“Today, banking has evolved beyond financial transactions to become a means of good governance and greater service delivery,” he remarked.
Prior to 2014, bank officials received phone calls that guided how they worked, he remembered.
The Narendra Modi-led NDA government began office in May 2014. Prime Minister Modi stressed that the administration has restructured the system with transparency as its major purpose.
He said, “By spreading the seeds of millions of crores of frauds, phone banking politics has rendered banks unsafe and the country’s economy unstable.”
He said that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code had sped up the resolution of hazardous bank debts (IBC).
Identifying non-performing assets (NPAs) has resulted in millions of crores of rupees being repaid to the banking system.
He stated, “We recapitalized banks, penalized wilful defaulters, and updated the Prevention of Corruption Act.”
According to the Prime Minister, new initiatives such as DBUs and the innovative use of fintech have created a new self-driven mechanism for the financial industry.
He continued, “There is a great deal of liberty for clients, but there is also a great deal of ease and transparency for banks.”
The Prime Minister stated that his government had brought banks to the people, as opposed to the past, when it was the other way around.
“We have prioritized ensuring that financial services reach the final mile,” he stated.
The Prime Minister urged rural small business owners to fully embrace digital commerce.
He also requested banks to assist in connecting 100 merchants to go completely digital for the good of the country. “I am certain that this plan will propel our financial system and economy to a position where they will be future-ready and capable of leading the global economy,” he added.
According to him, the coming together of technology and the economy has led to the eradication of both the digital divide and corruption, and the government has transferred Rs 25 lakh crore directly to beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
He added, “Today, the digital economy is a major strength of of our startup world, our economy, of Make in India, and of self-sufficiency in India.”
He further stated that another payment will be made under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on Monday. The plan provides qualified farm households with Rs 6,000 per year, payable in three equal installments of Rs 2,000.
The Prime Minister said of the move to launch a digital currency based on blockchain, “Be it digital currency in the future or digital transactions today, apart from the economy, many important aspects are associated with them.”
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on the occasion that DBUs will allow those who do not have a personal computer or even a smartphone to access banking services digitally, without the requirement for any paper documents.
As part of the FY23 budget, the finance minister announced the establishment of 75 DBUs around the country to mark 75 years of India’s independence.
