Next decade of finance to focus on sustainable development, tech innovations: RBI Governor

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said the next decade of finance would focus mainly on two themes - sustainable development and technology-led innovations transforming the lives of the common people. Speaking at Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, he said technology, innovation, and fintech are working in tandem and contributing to the dynamism of the sector. "In our journey towards a higher level of sustainable development and financial inclusion these forces morphed into force multipliers,” he said. 

Das said that there were a lot of opportunities not only for enhancing the scope and depth of all that was happening in the fintech sector but the way it can deepen financial inclusion, enhance and broad base its footprint in the journey of the country towards 2047. "I think there is a lot of potential and if the regulator and the fintech players work together, we can create several milestones in our journey towards India in 2047,” he said.

The Governor then said: "The next decade of finance will be more focused on two central themes - sustainable development and technology-led innovations transforming the lives of the common people.”

Das said the total number of broadband internet users in India stood at 80.7 crore at the end of July 2022. "Similarly, with more than 46.5 crore Jan Dhan accounts and 120 crore mobile connections, new opportunities are opening up for implementing innovative ways of integration and development. This is reflected in the emergence of 100 unicorns in the country, with a record of 44 unicorns established only during the last year,” he said.

While highlighting the Indian banking regulator’s initiatives, the Governor said: “The RBI for the first time organised a global hackathon ‘Harbinger 2021’ to make retail payments more innovative. We received 363 proposals including 22 from countries like the US and the UK.” He also shared his views on responsible innovation and risk mitigation and said the RBI is looking at enhanced customer protection, better cybersecurity and resilience, managing financial integrity, and strong data protection.