Be part of India's growth story: Nirmala Sitharaman at Silicon Valley

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Silicon Valley invited investors to be part of the country's growth story while pitching for collaboration with the US in financial services and emerging technologies.

Speaking at a round table hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the US Chamber of Commerce's US-India Business Council (USIBC), she said financial technology (fintech) represents a unique opportunity for sustainable and inclusive growth.

"With a growth forecast of almost 8 per cent in FY 2023, India is likely to remain the world's fastest growing major economy over the next few years, driven by the continued expansion of its technology and start-up ecosystems," Sitharaman told a group of eminent corporate executives in the Silicon Valley.

"The US-India collaboration in financial services and emerging technologies will support increased investment and innovation, and fintech represents a unique opportunity for sustainable and inclusive growth," said the finance minister as she invited leading investors to become part of the India growth story.

Moderated by Atul Keshap, president, USIBC, the executive gathering was also joined by Dr V Ananth Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India; Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian Ambassador to the United States; Rajat Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance; and Nilesh Shah, chairman, CII National Committee on Financial Markets.

"There is a fintech revolution happening in India. As a country that runs the largest financial inclusion programme in the world to the country that has highest fintech adoption rate globally to the highest number of real time online transactions globally, India has a lot to offer to the world," said Sandhu.

"The financial sector in India has recently seen PM-guided and FM-led reforms. We hope that the US venture capitalists, endowment funds and asset management companies look at India to start their new journey or scale up existing operations and partner and grow," he said.

Keshap said the discussion reinforced that innovation around fintech will be a critical to reach USD500 billion in annual trade between the US and India.

"Global leaders in these fields from the USIBC and the CII member companies shared an ambitious vision for how fintech can power a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific. I stand in strong support of what business leaders, VC's, and institutional investors are doing to make that vision possible," he said.

"As a hotbed of innovation with a vibrant start-up ecosystem, India is full of opportunities for investors. India is home to one of the fastest growing fintech markets in the world, with transaction values estimated to grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent to reach USD138 billion by 2023," said Shah.

"Under Finance Minister Sitharaman's leadership, India has continued its accelerated growth despite the external shocks of COVID-19 and global conflicts, and the round table attendees looking to invest in India's expanding fintech market hold high expectations for its continued success," he said.

Among the businesses and funds that attended the event were Blackstone, Brevet Capital, Citi, Nova Credit, Western Digital, Palo Alto Networks, The Regents of the University of California, Lightspeed House Ventures, Insight Partners, Morgan Stanley, Powerhouse Ventures, Blume Ventures, Bow Capital and Nasdaq.

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