PM Modi showcases India’s fintech power with wit and wisdom at Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai

“Is this your fifth edition of the Global Fintech Fest?” Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys and chairman of the GFF, as they sat on the dais.

“I’ll be back for the tenth edition,” he promised, undeterred by the recent split verdict in the Lok Sabha election, drawing huge laughter from the audience.

Organized by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the Payments Council of India (PCI), and the Fintech Convergence Council (FCC), the GFF is likely the world’s largest gathering of fintech start-ups, investors, experts, bankers, and regulators from around the globe.

While the foreign delegates were unaware of Modi’s one-liners delivered in Hindi, they still sensed his popularity among the white-collared executives.

As Modi arrived on the third and final day of the GFF at the Jio Convention Centre, he was greeted with a standing ovation, incessant clapping, and even a few whistles.

Some in the crowd even chanted “Har Har Modi.”

Modi compared India’s cultural diversity, which once amazed the outside world, to its new fintech diversity. India is now exporting UPI payment solutions globally, from developing to developed countries like France.

“In the last 10 years, the Indian fintech sector has seen investments of over USD 31 billion,” he said, adding that affordable mobile and broadband data prices and zero-balance bank accounts have worked wonders.

He then immediately took a swipe at opposition leaders who consider themselves intellectuals. “When Saraswati was distributing wisdom, they were the first in line,” he quipped, referring to their initial mockery of his government’s initiatives.

He said this in the context of the opposition he faced during his first term when scaling up initiatives like Jan Dhan accounts.

An astute political leader, Modi is aware that he was in a state soon going to polls. The Maharashtra government, where the BJP is a coalition partner, recently introduced the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana,’ which promises monthly assistance of ₹1,500 to women and girls from families with an annual income below ₹2.5 lakh.

Modi used the occasion to highlight the Jan Dhan initiative, which has seen 53 crore accounts opened in the last 10 years. “There are 29 crore women with Jan Dhan accounts. It’s a tool for women’s empowerment,” said Modi, adding that women entrepreneurs are also the biggest beneficiaries under the government’s Mudra loan scheme.

In the first budget of the BJP-led NDA government in its third term, the Mudra loan amount was increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh.

The PM also outlined the government’s initiatives to support fintech innovation, such as the R&D corpus of ₹1 lakh crore and data protection laws. “We have also abolished the angel tax,” he said, as the audience listened in rapt attention.

“Didn’t we do the right thing?” he promptly asked, sparking a roar of approval from the crowd.

“Our best is yet to come,” said Modi, who made it a point to visit the exhibition area to see the future digital products from the NPCI and the fintech world.

As he was leaving, the crowd erupted with even more noise, chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai.”