Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Thursday called for an inclusive and trusted digital financial ecosystem, saying that finance must first become accessible to all before it can become truly intelligent.
Addressing the Global Fintech Festival 2026 in Mumbai, Scindia said telecom connectivity is the “invisible highway” on which the fintech ecosystem is built. He identified connectivity, compute and trust as the three key elements driving the next phase of digital finance.
India emerges as a digital and data powerhouse
Highlighting India’s digital transformation, Scindia said internet access has grown from around 25 crore people a decade ago to nearly 100 crore today, while broadband access has surged from 6 crore to 103 crore, representing nearly 16-fold growth in 10 years.
He said smartphones have effectively become “bank branches” for millions of Indians, connecting citizens not only to the internet but also to credit, investment and other financial services. Around 6.5 lakh villages are now participating in the digital economy, he said.
India’s 5G rollout has also progressed rapidly. Launched in 2022, 5G now reaches 99.9% of districts and nearly 85% of the population, within 26 months, supported by more than 5 lakh 5G base stations.
Scindia also highlighted the sharp decline in communication costs, saying data prices have fallen to around 10 cents per GB, making digital services increasingly affordable.
UPI demonstrates power of Digital Public Infrastructure
The Minister cited the expansion of UPI as an example of India’s ability to build digital infrastructure at scale. From around 90,000 transactions in its first month, UPI has expanded to more than 740 banks and processed about 24,162 crore transactions worth nearly ₹314 lakh crore in FY 2025–26.
Scindia said around 84% of domestic digital transactions take place through UPI, while India accounts for approximately 49% of global real-time digital payment volumes.
He said UPI is also being taken to nine countries at no cost, with efforts underway to extend the model to another 20 countries, reflecting the vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
Building trust into digital finance
Scindia stressed that open, affordable and secure infrastructure would be essential to the next phase of fintech. He said innovation scales when infrastructure is open, inclusion when it is affordable and trust when it is secure.
He highlighted the role of nearly 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts and around 9 billion documents on DigiLocker in reducing barriers to financial services.
At the same time, he called for stronger safeguards as financial systems become increasingly intelligent. He cited Sanchar Saathi and the AI-powered ASTR tool, which has helped disconnect more than 88 lakh suspicious mobile connections.
The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) was also highlighted as a mechanism to identify suspicious transactions and help prevent fraudulent payments before money leaves citizens’ accounts. Scindia called for standard operating procedures across banking networks and a shift from reactive fraud detection to predictive trust.
Connectivity, AI and India’s 6G ambitions
In the North Eastern Region, Scindia said fintech connectivity has reached almost every village. Through Digital Bharat Nidhi, around 22,000 towers are being established across 34,000 villages without telecom connectivity, with the objective of achieving complete saturation.
He said the convergence of AI, computing power and digital infrastructure could enable personalised financial advice, smarter credit assessment and increasingly autonomous financial services.
Scindia also highlighted India’s indigenous 4G telecom stack and ongoing work on 5G. India’s 6G mission has already begun, with an ambition to contribute 10% of global 6G patents and play a significant role in developing international 6G standards.
Calling for finance to evolve from digital access towards intelligence and empowerment, Scindia said India must “Innovate in India, serve in India, serve the world and serve it securely.”
