At Global Fintech Fest, PM Modi hails India's strong GDP growth despite global supply chain disruptions

Slamming the critics who questioned India's growth prospects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the 7.8 per cent GDP growth rate demonstrated resilient economic fundamentals and gave the world 'new confidence' amid global supply chain disruptions. Speaking at the the inaugural session of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF), PM Modi noted that the strong economic growth in the first quarter of Financial Year 2027 was achieved despite global supply chain disruptions due to West Asia conflict. 'The world is going through a phase of conflicts and uncertainties. Even within this, the quarter from April to June has been the most challenging. And within that, when India grows at 7.8%, the world gains a new confidence,' PM Modi said. He claimed that the economic expansion was a result of growing international trust in India. 'Our sovereign ratings are one example of the growing trust in India. Recently, Japan's credit rating agency upgraded India's sovereign rating to the 'A' category. Only a few people know that this fortunate time has come after three long decades.' Turning to financial technology, PM Modi hailed the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as the primary engine driving India's digital transformation. Marking the completion of a decade since UPI was introduced on August 25, he reflected on the scepticism that once surrounded the vision of digital banking. 'When I used to say that your bank would be at your fingertips, some people thought it was impossible—and I am talking about well-informed people,' he stated. PM Modi underscored that scaling single milestones is not his final destination. 'I am about to complete 25 years in the ecosystem connected to policy and governance,' PM Modi said. 'Modi is not one to reach a milestone, celebrate it, and then rest content. When one goal is achieved, I immediately get to work preparing for an even bigger one,' he added. Pointing out that UPI is already operational in several foreign markets, he set the next milestone as deep system-level integration with international banking corridors. 'We have done this with Singapore, and as a result, transactions between India and Singapore are happening just like transactions between two streets in a city. We have to build the same connection with other countries and markets,' he said. Looking ahead, PM Modi urged FinTech companies to harness emerging technologies—including Agentic AI, Tokenisation, and Quantum Computing—to solve complex inclusion and security challenges. 'Agentic AI… Tokenisation… Quantum… Such technologies are opening new possibilities in the financial sector. Now the challenge before us is how to turn these possibilities into real impact? For this, I want our FinTech companies to come together and set some tasks for themselves,' noted PM Modi. He said, 'First- We need to make cybersecurity in India top-notch. Second- Our industry should have its own ethical data protection standards. Third- We need to build a strong… FinTech regulator industry innovation ecosystem. Fourth- We should have a… FinTech consumer protection index.' (With inputs from agencies)