<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>India is a leader in adopting financial technology amongst emerging markets. The country recorded an adoption rate of 87% in March 2020 as compared to 64% global average. Skilled workforce &amp; technological environment in India make it a great destination to develop financial technology,&rdquo;&nbsp;<b>said Dr. Karad.</b></span></p>
            <p style="text-align: justify;"><span><br>&ldquo;Fintech sector has managed to grow even during the challenging times of pandemic. Financial Inclusion played an important role during the pandemic for the government. It was the prime means of distributing around 1.70 lakh crore direct benefit transfers to 800 million people under the PM Gareeb Kalyan Yojana,&rdquo;&nbsp;<b>added the Minister.</b>&nbsp;</span></p>
            <p style="text-align: justify;"><span><br>&ldquo;The Government of India is making tremendous efforts to build a strong &amp; safe financial technology ecosystem and we are confident that the public private partnerships will increase financial inclusion and provide modern financial services to all the Indians,&rdquo;&nbsp;<b >he said further.</b></span></p>
            <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong ><span><br>Shri Vineet Agarwal, ASSOCHAM President&nbsp;</span></strong><span>said,<em>&nbsp;&ldquo;</em>Covid-19 had an unprecedented impact on macro and micro economic environment and the financial systems at a global scale. Hence, it is critical for us to focus on how financial resources are best used to safeguard the growth cycle of the economy and inpiduals and businesses against disruptions. The theme of today&rsquo;s conclave &ndash; Fintech for the underserved, is important as it highlights the key role of digital financial services in achieving the Hon&rsquo;ble Prime Minister&rsquo;s vision on&nbsp;</span><em><span style=" border-box;font-size:16px;line-height: 17.12px;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Atmanirbhar Bharat</span></em><span style=" border-box;font-size:16px;line-height: 17.12px;font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">&nbsp;and a $5 Trillion economy. A strong, robust and professionally managed banking, financial lending and FinTech companies will make this dream a possibility&rdquo;.</span></p>
            <p style="text-align: justify;"><span><br>&ldquo;Technology is a key enabler of a digital economy and has the potential to play a central role in enhancing access to finance for small enterprises. Fintech is re-defining business models across different segments, improving service delivery and digital financial inclusion. In 2020, the retail digital payments are at 52% against just 6% in FY14 and issuance of physical cheques is down from 78% to 33%. Today the country has leapfrogged a generation to move directly to Aadhar and biometric based payment mechanism,&rdquo;&nbsp;<b s>he added.</b></span></p>
            <p style="text-align: justify;"><span><br>&ldquo;The biggest impact of this technology is however on the creation of a digital framework for financial inclusion. Use of Aadhar based payment systems like UPI Bhim for DBT has greatly reduced inefficiencies, leakages and cost for government programs. In FY-21, about 100 crore beneficiaries received 3 lakh crores directly into their bank accounts, this is a milestone for the country as the money is reaching the right person at the right time. Govt transfers are not only making lives easier for the underserved but also creating an eco-system for B2B transactions,&rdquo;&nbsp;<b>he added.</b></span></p>
            <p style="text-align: justify;"><span><br>Other eminent speakers at the conclave include industry luminaries such as,&nbsp;<b> Shri Vivek Belgavi</b>, Partner &amp; Leader FinTech, PwC India (Knowledge Partner)&nbsp;<b>Shri Nikhil Sahni</b>, pisional President, Mastercard - South Asia,&nbsp;<b>Shri Manoj Adlakha</b>, SVP &amp; CEO, American Express Banking Corp India,&nbsp;<b style=" border-box;font-weight: 700;">Shri Jeremy Sturchio</b>, Vice President, Government Engagement, Asia Pacific, VISA,&nbsp;<b>Shri V. R Govindarajan</b>, CEO and Co-Founder, Perfios,&nbsp;<b style=" border-box;font-weight: 700;">Ms Richa Mukherjee</b>, Co-Chairperson ASSOCHAM Fintech Council and Director- Public Policy &amp; Corporate Affairs - PayU India discussed on the future of Digital Payments in the country.</span></p>
            <p style="text-align: justify;"><span><br>The conclave also saw the release of a report titled&nbsp;<b>&ldquo;FinTech for the Underserved: Future of FinTech and Payments to drive Financial Inclusiveness&rdquo;</b>. The report is prepared in collaboration with PwC as knowledge partner. Another highlight of the conclave is the Fintech awards to recognise and support the best in the sector. Shri R. Chandrashekhar, Former Secretary to Government of India served as the jury chair to select the winners from a long list of entries.</span></p>
            <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong ><br>ASSOCHAM Awards 2021 &ndash; FinTech &amp; Digital Payments:</span></strong></p>