Fintech A Game-Changer Driving India’s Inclusion And E-Governance: IFSCA Chairperson

Financial inclusion and e-governance brought in by Indian fintechs have truly been a game changer transforming the socio-economic growth trajectory of the country, said K Rajaraman, Chairperson, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).

Rajaraman said that fintech has also helped reduce the cost of financial intermediaries and enabled data aggregation, further reducing the credit and insurance risk.

He emphasised the digitisation in finance has delivered in terms of financial inclusion drastically reducing the turnaround time for financial services, simplifying procedures and leading to the emergence of an efficient and different business model.  

Speaking more on India’s role in changing the fintech landscape Rajaraman said, “India is at the cusp of development and a vibrant democracy that focuses on the inclusion of all kinds – social, demographic and financial with a competent manpower that can serve the rest of the world.”

Additionally, India has enabled biometric identities for nearly 1.4 billion people, connecting nearly 1.2 billion of its citizens through the 4G and now 5G networks, he said, underlining India’s role in providing over 500 million bank accounts to unbanked citizens.

He said India is the third largest fintech ecosystem after the US and China. The sector boasts 23 unicorns as of Q1 of 2023 and over 660 startups that have received funding of nearly 26 million dollars from 2014 to date. It has also had a fintech adoption rate of approximately 87 per cent, surpassing several advanced economies.

Shedding light on IFSCA's goals, Rajaraman said, "We are aiming to foster a conducive business environment and world-class regulatory framework to facilitate the startups, encouraging innovative financial product development, implementing over 30 streamlined global-standard regulations."

He added, "We offer a competitive tax structure, including 10 years of corporate tax exemption out of 15, along with exemptions from dividend distribution tax, security transactions tax, commodity transaction tax, and more."