India is likely to remain the world’s fastest growing major economy over the next few years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.
Addressing an exclusive roundtable in Palo Alto for business leaders and investors, Sitharaman highlighted that India is expected to grow eight per cent in 2022-23 and this growth is expected to be driven by the continued expansion of its technology and start-up ecosystems.
In this context, 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, she added.
Sitharaman invited leading investors present in the room to become part of the India growth story.
The round table was co-hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the US Chamber of Commerce’s US-India Business Council (USIBC).
The round table was attended by senior executives, private sector business leaders, venture capitalists, institutional investors, and representatives of pension and endowment funds, representing combined assets under management of over $1 trillion.
Fintech sector booming
Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador of India to the US, said, “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. 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.”
Nilesh Shah, Chairman, CII National Committee on Financial Markets, and Group President and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co Ltd, 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 $138 billion by 2023”.
Among the businesses and funds that attended the roundtable included Blackstone, The Regents of the University of California, Citi, B Capital, Lightspeed House Ventures, Insight Partners, Morgan Stanley, Nova Credit, Powerhouse Ventures, Blume Ventures, Palo Alto Networks, Bow Capital, Nasdaq and others.