Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 9 (ANI): The Global Fintech Fest (GFF) has emerged as one of the highlights of the Indian financial calendar, serving as a key platform where policymakers and market leaders define the next stage of the country's financial technology sector, said Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the National Stock Exchange. 

Speaking to the media at the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, Chauhan said, "It's one of the highlights of Indian financial calendar. This GFF has come out to be one of the large, literally the largest event of its type in the world."

"We are really delighted and eager to participate whenever it comes. So it's a great, very well managed event. So congratulations to the organizers and RBI and SEBI for organizing this," he added.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on India's fintech industry to strengthen cybersecurity, adopt ethical data-protection standards, deepen regulator-industry innovation and develop a Fintech Consumer Protection Index for transparent company ratings.

Addressing the Global Fintech Fest 2026 on Tuesday, Modi said fintech companies should jointly set clear priorities as technologies such as Agentic AI, tokenisation and quantum open new possibilities in the financial sector.

"First, we have to make cybersecurity in India top-notch. Second, our industry should have its own ethical data-protection standards. Third, we have to build a strong fintech regulator-industry innovation ecosystem. And fourth, we should have a Fintech Consumer Protection Index, on the basis of which every company can be rated transparently," Modi said.

He added that if the sector measured itself against these parameters, India's fintech industry could become "a gateway to countless possibilities".

The Prime Minister also said the next phase of India's fintech growth should move beyond payments and expand into credit, insurance, savings, investments and pensions.

"Now, in the fintech market, along with payments, the share of credit transactions should also increase, the share of insurance should increase, and the share of savings, investments and pensions should increase," he said.

Modi said fintech could help serve small businesses and workers who are still not efficiently covered by traditional financial models.

"We have demonstrated speed and scale in payments. Now, we will have to help increase the share of non-payment transactions," he said.

On UPI's global expansion, Modi said the platform is now live in 11 countries and India should work towards linking it with payment systems of more countries.

"Today, our UPI has reached several countries. But this is the first step. Now our next target should be to connect with the payment systems of those countries," he said.

He cited the India-Singapore payment linkage as an example and said similar connections should be built with other countries and markets, particularly where Indians live in large numbers or India has significant trade ties.

The Prime Minister said UPI recorded more than 2,400 crore transactions in August alone and described it as one of the biggest drivers of India's fintech transformation.

"UPI is no longer limited only to India," Modi said.

On the broader economy, Modi said India's 7.8 per cent growth in the April-June quarter came despite a difficult global environment marked by conflicts, uncertainty, pressure on energy and commodity supply chains and trade tensions.

"When India grows at 7.8 per cent even in such a situation, it gives the world renewed confidence," he said.

He also referred to India's recent sovereign rating upgrade by a Japanese credit rating agency to the A category, saying it reflected confidence in the country's growth momentum, macroeconomic stability and structural reforms. (ANI)