Discussions to focus on charting the future path to a more financially inclusive and sustainable India, powered by the latest innovations in fintech
20 September, 2023, Bengaluru: IIM Bangalore and LSE South Asia Centre are coming together to host a two-day international symposium titled: ‘Digital Innovations, Financial Inclusion and Sustainability in India’, from 9.30 onwards on the 3rd and 4th of November 2023, at the IIMB campus. The sessions will focus on issues of inclusivity, digitalisation and financial innovations in India. The symposium coincides with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of IIMB.
For details, please click: https://eep.iimb.ac.in/iimb-golden-jubilee-international-symposium/
The event will feature plenary lectures, fireside chats, panel discussions and more, with extensive discussions and participant engagement. As India digitalises at an ever-increasing speed, technology as well as its attendant effects – from affordable credit to programs for savings, investments, insurance and pensions – should be accessible to its entire population, which now exceeds that of any other country. Business models and digital technologies can aid disadvantaged individuals’ access to flexible financing options in commercially viable ways. They can also evolve into a variety of wider social consequences.
It is well recognised that millions of Indian households, along with micro and small enterprises, have limited access to formal financial service institutions. Dependence on informal sources including family, friends and moneylenders for basic needs is extensive, and influenced by culturally grounded familiarity and security as well as lack of awareness of digital fintech innovations. This leads to many getting into debt traps, especially when borrowing from moneylenders who charge high interest rates, leading in turn to poverty traps.
Successive governments and financial service providers have launched several digitally driven programs to improve financial inclusion such as the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana’ (a basic savings bank deposit account for poor households) and the ‘Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana’ (collateral-free loans for income generation and employment creation among micro and small entrepreneurs). Affordable programs for financial security through pension, life and accident insurance have also been launched. These programs have been built on the foundation of digital access enabled by the ‘Aadhaar’ card (Unique Identification Authority of India) for every Indian citizen, and the marked use of smartphones for finance-related activity. Data shows that several of these initiatives have had much success while evidence exists of side effects. The Reserve Bank of India’s Financial Inclusion Index (FII) confirms the existence of gaps, possibilities as well as challenges in addressing financial inclusion issues.
This symposium will provide an opportunity for academics, innovators, policy-makers, regulators, business leaders and other stakeholders to share experiences and chart a future path toward a more financially inclusive and sustainable India, powered by the latest innovations in fintech.
The sessions will focus on themes including: Global Experiences in Digitalisation and Financial Inclusion; Innovations and Successful Business Models; Digitalisation, Cultural Practices and Financial Behaviour; Policies and Regulatory Aspects of Financial Inclusion, and Digitalisation and Social Change.
Discussions to focus on charting the future path to a more financially inclusive and sustainable India, powered by the latest innovations in fintech
20 September, 2023, Bengaluru: IIM Bangalore and LSE South Asia Centre are coming together to host a two-day international symposium titled: ‘Digital Innovations, Financial Inclusion and Sustainability in India’, from 9.30 onwards on the 3rd and 4th of November 2023, at the IIMB campus. The sessions will focus on issues of inclusivity, digitalisation and financial innovations in India. The symposium coincides with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of IIMB.
For details, please click: https://eep.iimb.ac.in/iimb-golden-jubilee-international-symposium/
The event will feature plenary lectures, fireside chats, panel discussions and more, with extensive discussions and participant engagement. As India digitalises at an ever-increasing speed, technology as well as its attendant effects – from affordable credit to programs for savings, investments, insurance and pensions – should be accessible to its entire population, which now exceeds that of any other country. Business models and digital technologies can aid disadvantaged individuals’ access to flexible financing options in commercially viable ways. They can also evolve into a variety of wider social consequences.
It is well recognised that millions of Indian households, along with micro and small enterprises, have limited access to formal financial service institutions. Dependence on informal sources including family, friends and moneylenders for basic needs is extensive, and influenced by culturally grounded familiarity and security as well as lack of awareness of digital fintech innovations. This leads to many getting into debt traps, especially when borrowing from moneylenders who charge high interest rates, leading in turn to poverty traps.
Successive governments and financial service providers have launched several digitally driven programs to improve financial inclusion such as the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana’ (a basic savings bank deposit account for poor households) and the ‘Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana’ (collateral-free loans for income generation and employment creation among micro and small entrepreneurs). Affordable programs for financial security through pension, life and accident insurance have also been launched. These programs have been built on the foundation of digital access enabled by the ‘Aadhaar’ card (Unique Identification Authority of India) for every Indian citizen, and the marked use of smartphones for finance-related activity. Data shows that several of these initiatives have had much success while evidence exists of side effects. The Reserve Bank of India’s Financial Inclusion Index (FII) confirms the existence of gaps, possibilities as well as challenges in addressing financial inclusion issues.
This symposium will provide an opportunity for academics, innovators, policy-makers, regulators, business leaders and other stakeholders to share experiences and chart a future path toward a more financially inclusive and sustainable India, powered by the latest innovations in fintech.
The sessions will focus on themes including: Global Experiences in Digitalisation and Financial Inclusion; Innovations and Successful Business Models; Digitalisation, Cultural Practices and Financial Behaviour; Policies and Regulatory Aspects of Financial Inclusion, and Digitalisation and Social Change.