India's digital economy to see exponential growth to $800 bn by 2030: FM: India's digital economy is expected to witness exponential growth to $800 billion by 2030 on the back of rising internet penetration and increasing income, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. Addressing the IIT Bombay Alumni Association virtually, she said India has over 6,300 fintechs, of which 28% are into investment technology, 27% into payments, 16% into lending and 9% into banking infrastructure, while over 20% are into other fields. Sitharaman further added that the combined valuation of India's fintech industry is set to surge to $150 billion in next three years. The finance minister said that majority of the startup unicorns are from fintech sector and that the easy availability of funding has helped them grow. "We are seeing considerable scaling up of funds being raised by Indian fintech startups," she added. Speaking on the government policies that help accelerated the digital economy, Sitharaman said the government has made it easier in terms of smooth and easy access to the stock markets, with technology such as e-KYC and e-Aadhaar helping the retail investors come into the market. The total number of retail investor accounts has almost doubled, from about 45 million as of March 2016 to 88.2 million by March 31 2021, she added. Quoting a report, she said a 10 per cent rise in internet penetration results in an increase of 3.9% in GDP per capita. Talking about push to digital economy, she said the recent Budget has announced setting up of 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs). In her Budget speech earlier this year, she had said, "In recent years, digital banking, digital payments and fintech innovations have grown at a rapid pace in the country. Government is continuously encouraging these sectors to ensure that the benefits of digital banking reach every nook and corner of the country in a consumer-friendly manner." Taking forward this agenda, and to mark 75 years of independence, she had said, it is proposed to set up 75 Digital Banking Units in 75 districts of the country by scheduled commercial banks. With regard to Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Sitharaman said 4.5 billion transactions entailing transfers of more than ₹8.2 trillion have taken place in February.
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