Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 20 pushed the fintech industry to break the distance barrier and have more engagements with the government and its agencies to boost confidence.
Sitharaman was responding to a question from Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2022 Advisory Board, who wanted to know how to ensure trust among industry, regulators and the government.
“I don’t want to sound cliché, but distance breeds mistrust. So cut down the distance, have more engagement with the government,” the minister said.
Sitharaman further said that everyone in the government, be it the Prime Minister, the ministers or the think tank Niti Aayog, is constantly available for engagement, discussions and exchange of ideas.
“So greater engagement, greater trust, that builds. So I think a sure way to keep and build trust is to keep that constant engagement going,” she said.
To a question related to the role of the central bank and the finance ministry in the proposed digital currency, Sitharaman said that the Reserve Bank will come out with the RBI-run digital currency.
On February 1, she announced in her budget speech that the Digital Rupee or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would be issued by the RBI in the current financial year.
In his speech at GFF 2022, the minister said that RBI’s regulatory sandbox mechanism has provided a structured and institutionalized framework where fintech companies can test their new products, new innovations before scaling.
“So this has actually helped test it in a controlled environment and post that you’re able to scale up quickly so the markets can get the benefits and you can accelerate your product innovations,” she said.
The minister further said that there are opportunities for fintech players to play their role in a sustainable financial environment, and exploit the specific opportunities in green finance – a financial arrangement for the specific use of funds for environmentally sustainable development products.
