IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw kicks off NITI Aayog's Fintech Open Summit

New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS) In an effort to showcase the importance of the fintech industry, NITI Aayog, in collaboration with PhonePe, AWS (Amazon Web Services) and EY, has organised a three-week-long virtual summit, 'Fintech Open', from February 7–28.

The summit was inaugurated by Union Minister for Railways, Communications, and Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw in the presence of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, Dr Rajiv Kumar.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we believe in creating open platforms, such as Cowin and UPI, for healthcare, logistics and other sectors. An open platform is created using public investment, wherein numerous private entrepreneurs, start-ups and developers can join to create new solutions," said Vaishnaw.

"For example, today, 270 banks are connected with the UPI and many entrepreneurs and start-ups have provided solutions that have helped increase the country's fintech adoption rate—which is the highest globally at 87 per cent," added the IT Minister while flagging off the event.

A first-of-its-kind initiative, 'Fintech Open' will bring together regulators, fintech professionals and enthusiasts, industry leaders, the start-up community, and developers to collaborate, exchange ideas and innovate.

"India is witnessing increasing digitisation with people getting greater and easier access to financial services. This has led to a shift in consumers' financial behaviour -- from cash to e-wallets and UPI," said Kumar.

"The expansion of digital payments is an important pivot for creating a more equitable, prosperous and financially inclusive India. The rise of fintech has accelerated financial inclusion. I am excited to see the countless possibilities that will be presented by the bright minds of our country over the next few weeks," he elaborated.

The summit will have in-depth conversations, deep-dives, webinars, round-table discussions, etc., highlighting innovations and challenges undertaken by various startups.

Additionally, fintech-related work will also be showcased, and the most innovative startup will be recognised in a virtual felicitation ceremony.

"We are delighted to partner with NITI Aayog on this initiative, which is aimed at accelerating India's fintech revolution. The fintech industry is playing a critical role in facilitating financial inclusion across the country. We look forward to the next few weeks, where we will get an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across the industry, to innovate and build meaningful frameworks for the ecosystem," said Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO, PhonePe.

A key highlight of the summit will be India's biggest fintech hackathon ever, which will provide an opportunity to individual developers and the startup community to present breakthrough ideas with the potential to solve real-world problems.

Additionally, to foster creativity, innovation, and an entrepreneurial mindset among children, another hackathon for school students will also be organised via Atal Innovation Mission's 'Atal Tinkering Labs network'.

The summit will have distinguished speakers such as Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder, Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys, and Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.

Several prominent business leaders will also participate, such as Kunal Shah, Founder, Cred; Yashish Dahiya, CEO, PolicyBazaar; Anuj Gulati, Founding MD and CEO, Care Health Insurance; Varun Dua, CEO, Acko General Insurance; Nithin Kamath, CEO, Zerodha; Vijay Chandok, Managing Director, ICICI Securities; Lalit Keshre, CEO, Groww; Kavitha Subramanian Co-Founder, Upstox; and Harshil Mathur, CEO, Founder, Razorpay.