3,085 recognised startups engaged in fintech sector: Government in Parliament

As many as 3,085 recognised startups are engaged in the finance technology (fintech) sector till April 2023, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh said the Government has undertaken various efforts to promote startups in the country across multiple sectors including startups engaged in the fintech sector.

“The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has been targeted at increasing financial inclusion in India by helping in new bank account enrollment of beneficiaries for direct benefits transfer and accessibility to a host of financial services applications. This has enabled Fintech startups to build technology products to penetrate the large consumer base in India,” the minister said in his written reply in Lok Sabha.

In order to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation, and startups and encouraging private investments in the startup ecosystem of the country, the Government launched the Startup India initiative on 16th January 2016.

The usage of the Unified Payments Interface for payments is another enabler. UPI payments system has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India, and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is India's mobile-based fast payment system, which facilitates customers to make round-the-clock payments instantly, using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer.