Leveraging the internet sector and developing a robust digital economy has been at the core of Prime Minister Modi’s agenda. But how big is India’s Fintech industry? Well, Union Finance Minister gave us a glimpse into India’s booming Fintech industry during a virtual Fintech summit organised by IIT-Bombay Alumni Association.
India’s booming digital economy
The Union Finance Minister pointed out that India’s digital economy was pegged at $85-90 billion in the calendar year 2020. However, it is expected to touch $ 800 billion by 2030. It is being encouraged by rising income levels, growing internet penetration and the country’s young demographics.
Sitharaman said, “Digital revolution is enabling faster participation in every sector, particularly on the financial side.” She also highlighted a McKinsey report that showed how a 10 per cent increase in internet penetration would result in an increase of 3.9 per cent in GDP per capita.
Fintech industry growing big
The finance minister also spoke about the glorious performance of the country’s Fintech industry.
She pointed out that India’s Fintech industry is all set to jump from the $50-60 billion level seen in 2020 to $150 billion by 2025.
Funds are being funnelled into the Fintech industry by investors and this is continuously bolstering its value. Sitharaman pointed out that to date, $27.6 billion worth of funding has been received by the sector. She said that this kind of funding has helped in better valuation of the industry.
The Union Finance Minister said, “One out of every four start-up unicorns are from the fintech segment. Availability of funding has also helped fintech start-ups to really grow”. About 3 per cent of all recognised start-ups in the country are engaged in Fintech and there are a total of 6,300 Fintech start-ups. 20 of them have managed to get unicorn status.
She said that out of the 6,300 startups, 28 per cent are into investment technology, 27 per cent into payments, 16 per cent into lending and 9 per cent into banking infrastructure. The rest 20 per cent are engaged in other fields.
The funding received by Fintech ventures is constantly surging. In 2020, they raised $2.83 billion from 303 rounds. And in 2021, they raised $9.03 billion across 410 equity funding rounds. She added, “We are seeing considerable scaling up of funds being raised by Indian fintechs.”
Read more: FinTech startups – The sector that is producing Indian Unicorns on an assembly line
Indian citizens adopting Fintech
The Union Finance Minister explained how greater adoption of the Fintech industry in India is boosting the industry.
She said, “It is this adoption that makes us feel India is reaching a crescendo in terms of fintech revolution, which is across the board in the country. While global adoption is at 64 per cent, India’s adoption is 87 per cent. You can see the adoption rate at this scale has been triggered by the pandemic itself.”
How the government is boosting Fintech
Sitharaman pointed out how the government has helped expand the horizons of the Indian stock markets. She said that the steps taken by the government have ensured smooth and easy access to the stock markets. And therefore, the number of retail investors in the country’s stock markets has almost doubled from 45 million in March 2016 to 88.2 million in March 2021.
To further drive the country’s digital economy, the Union Budget has announced the setting up of 75 digital banking units in India. This will help in stimulating digital transactions and expanding the scope of India’s Fintech industry.
Also, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is also looking to set up the central bank digital currency (CBDC) and is presently studying the associated risks.
The finance minister concluded that the government is doing everything possible to encourage the emergence of India as an attractive Fintech destination. She said, “It is the bright minds from IITs who have to give flesh and blood to this whole framework that government is putting in place.”
India is thus looking at a bright future in the sector that can single-handedly revolutionise the Indian economy and power its growth story.
