1 in 4 startups from fintech sector, 20 unicorns in 2-3 yrs: FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India has the largest startup ecosystem with fintech being the most preferred sector. She said that 1 in 4 startups belong to the fintech sector and are increasingly becoming unicorns or startups that have a valuation of more than $1 billion.

Sitharaman was speaking at a high-level panel discussion on “Money at a Crossroad” with the Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva.

She said, “If I may put it this way, 1 in 4 startups belong to the fintech world and they are now increasingly becoming unicorns, also 20 unicorns belonging to fintech emerged within the last 2-3 years,” the Finance Minister mentioned.

During this discussion, the Finance Minister also underscored that India’s digital adoption rate was at 85 per cent as of 2019.

“If I use 2019 data, the digital adoption rate in India is about 85 per cent. But globally the same year it was only somewhere near 64 per cent. So, the pandemic time actually helped us test and prove that it is simple to use, common people can use it, and adoption was actually proven,” she said in her remarks at the discussion.

She furthermore said that the government has made efforts to build a digital infrastructure framework over the last decade, stressing the increase of digital adoption rate in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve, as a government, spent a lot of time over the last decade trying to build the digital infrastructure framework within which we had ensured data security, data privacy elements and also created the India stack,” the Finance Minister said.

She explained that India stack is the “indigenously developed technology driven enabler” for digital innovations like open API platform, AADHAAR and UPI among others, adding that private sector has also stepped in to ensure that this stack is used for common public good.

Apart from her meetings with the World, IMF, G20 and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Sitharaman also attended an event at the Washington DC-based think tank Atlantic Council.

The Finance Minister’s US visit will include various bilateral engagements including with Sri Lanka, South Africa and South Korea and a high-level meeting with World Bank President David Malpass.

After these meetings, Sitharaman will reach San Francisco on April 24 and interact with business leaders. She will also interact with students and faculty at Stanford University. Sitharaman will depart for India on April 27.

(With agency inputs)

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