SUMMARY
- Infosys’ Nandan Nilekani has stated that startups founded upon India’s DPI are valued at almost $100 billion.
- He described “Finternet” to be the future of finance at the annual Global Fintech Festival 2024 in Mumbai.
- The Indian fintech sector boasts more than 23 unicorns and 36 soon-to-be unicorns.
Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder and non-executive chairman, has stated that startups founded upon India’s digital public infrastructure are valued at almost $100 billion.
He further emphasized that the primary objective behind the development of the unified payments interface (UPI) was to establish a foundation that would facilitate the utilization of infrastructure by Indian entrepreneurs for the creation of innovative offerings.
During his speech at the annual Global Fintech Festival 2024, Nilekani elaborated on the concept known as “Finternet,” which he has described as the future of finance. He highlighted that Finternet would be centered around the user, unified, and would encompass a wide range of assets, including land, property, bonds, financial investments, art, and paintings, all under a unified infrastructure.
All forms of assets, encompassing land, property, bonds, financial investments, and artworks, among others, will be integrated under a unified infrastructure and tokenized, he further elaborated. The necessity for such a novel system was underscored due to the limitations of the existing financial frameworks. These frameworks are ill-equipped to meet the growing demands of users, who seek enhanced choice and control over their assets.
He pointed out that the necessity for such a system arises from the current limitations of the financial systems in meeting the demands of users, who seek greater choice and control. Nilekani added that the system aims to enable everyone to participate and have control over various types of assets, including user-controlled assets, user-generated content, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), certified assets, registered assets such as land, and regulated assets like financial products.
These remarks were made on the inaugural day of the three-day Global Fintech Festival 2024, which is being held in Mumbai. The event is expected to feature notable attendees including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
On the first day, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the launch of two new products from the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) portfolio: UPI Circle and Bharat BillPay For Business. UPI Circle allows users to delegate payments to trusted secondary customers, while Bharat BillPay For Business enables businesses to automate various invoice payment processes.
The day also saw the debut of Flipkart’s fintech app, super.money, with its first product being a co-branded credit card in partnership with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank.
At the core of these developments is the thriving Indian fintech sector, which has seen startups secure over $28 billion in funding between 2014 and 2023. The sector boasts more than 23 unicorns and 36 soon-to-be unicorns.
The expansion of the fintech ecosystem has largely been attributed to the increasing number of internet users in India, the rising penetration of smartphones, and the affordability of internet tariffs. Additionally, the development of digital public infrastructure, including UPI, ONDC, and account aggregator frameworks, has led to the creation of numerous use cases and has contributed to the emergence of major players in the fintech sector.
