“Need To Look At Narrowing The Inclusivity Gap” Shri. Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), MEA, At GFF 2024

"With the world GDP at USD 85 trillion, world wealth at USD 400 trillion, and USD 125 trillion in investment flows, there is a sense of dilemma that we have not addressed the ‘inclusivity’ gap, and this is a challenge in front of Governments across the globe. We need to look at, can Digital Public Infrastructure narrow this ‘inclusivity’ gap,” said Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India at the opening session of the Global Fintech Fest 2024. He was speaking at one of the world’s largest annual fintech conferences, the Global Fintech Fest (GFF), which is back with its fifth edition from August 28-30 at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Blueprint for the Next Decade of Finance: Responsible AI | Inclusive | Resilient’. 

GFF 2024 is presented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA). The conference is jointly organised by the Payments Council of India (PCI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the Fintech Convergence Council (FCC).

Among other speakers at the session were Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chair - GFF2024, Co-founder Infosys and Chairman, Axilor Ventures; Mr. G Padmanabhan, Former Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India, and Ex-Chairman, Bank of India and Mr. Vishwas Patel, Joint Managing Director, Infibeam Avenues & Chairman, Payments Council of India.

“Globally while addressing the equality debate, there is significant interest around ‘inclusivity’, and we also need to be worried about the lack of significant progress on the sustainable development, and hence we need to think if fintech technologies will bring about the change in an accelerated manner. For a long time, India has been a ‘rule taker’, and we just abided by the western nations. But in the fintech revolution, India has an eminent role to play in ‘rule making’, as most of the digital technologies are made in India, and India should be at the forefront of taking the lead,” added Shri. Ravi.

Talking about how the next 10 years will look like and the future of the fintech industry, Mr. Gopalakrishnan, said, “Indian fintech industry has come a long way, combining emerging technologies, business models, innovation, and Digital Public Infrastructure. New technologies are emerging such as IoT, AI, ML, ChatGPT, voice recognition, etc., and every evolution of technology will require responses and how the fintech industry navigates this and maintains momentum. There is global collaboration to look at how we can leverage this new technology, and what we have been able to achieve in India. There is discussion around the responsible use of technology, ethical growth and the need to build trust with all stakeholders, and collaborations across borders with governments and we look forward to all these discussions.”

In his opening remarks Mr. Padmanabhan said, “The greatest achievement of Global Fintech Fest is bringing every stakeholder together to network, which is crucial for the development of any ecosystem.”

Concluding the inaugural session, Mr. Patel, said, “This event is an extraordinary gathering of visionaries and leaders who are seeking a future in financial technology. GFF has grown to be the largest fintech conference in the world and it is a testament to the vibrant community that drives innovation and transformation.”

The session also saw the launch of the report “Building Bridges for the Next Decade of Finance”.

Around 800 speakers, including policymakers, regulators, senior bankers, industry captains, and academicians, from India and various other countries will address more than 350 sessions over three days of the conference. Delegates are expected from over 100 countries.

GFF 2024 Highlights

3 Days | 7 Tracks | 11 Stages |300+ Exhibitors| 350+ Sessions | 800+ Speakers | 

For more information on the conference, live agenda and list of speakers visit the website: Global Fintech Fest 2024.