India The Next Destination For FinTech, Blockchain The New Mantra: PM Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week gave a keynote address at the Singapore FinTech Festival. He emphasised the importance of fintech in the global economy and said that it should be a movement that can improve the lives of the world's most marginalised people. "There is an explosion of fintech innovation and enterprise in India. It has turned India into a leading fintech and Startup nation in the world. The future of fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India. Our youth are developing apps that are making the dream of paperless, cashless, presence-less, and yet safe and secure, transactions possible for all. That is the wonder of India Stack– simply the largest set of Application Programming Interface in the world. They are using Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and machine learning to create solutions for banks, regulators and consumers. And, they are also embracing our nation’s social missions – from health and education to microcredit and insurance," said PM Modi. Making a keen observation at the event, Modi explained the relationship between the startups, the investors and the funding. He said, "I have heard of an advice going around in start-up circles. To increase your Venture Capital or VC funding by 10 percent, tell the investors you run a platform, not a regular business; If you want to increase your VC funding by 20 percent, tell the investors that you are operating in the fintech space; But, if you really want the investors to empty their pockets, tell them that you are using blockchain!" At the event, PM Modi also launched global fintech platform Application Programming Interface Exchange (APIX) along with T Shanmugaratnam, the Deputy PM of Singapore.