Union Minister of Communications Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia Calls For Inclusive and Trusted Intelligent Finance at the Global Fintech Festival 2026
Union Minister of Communications Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia spoke at the Global Fintech Festival 2026 in Mumbai, stressing that finance must be inclusive before becoming intelligent. He highlighted India's digital achievements, including massive growth in internet and broadband users, rapid 5G expansion, and the phenomenal scaling of UPI transactions. He also emphasized the importance of robust security measures, predictive trust, and indigenous telecom developments like the 4G stack and ongoing 6G mission.
Why It Matters
This press release contains important factual data regarding India's digital public infrastructure, telecommunications growth, and fintech statistics (such as UPI transaction volume, broadband growth, and 5G expansion) which are frequently tested in competitive government exams under current affairs.
In Simple Words
Union Minister Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia addressed the Global Fintech Festival 2026 in Mumbai, emphasizing that financial systems must prioritize inclusion alongside intelligence. He noted that India's digital trinity consists of connectivity, compute, and trust.
He detailed India's massive digital growth over the past decade, including internet user expansion to 100 crore, broadband growth to 103 crore, and rapid 5G rollout across 99.9% of districts. He also highlighted UPI's massive scale, the establishment of a Trust Grid, and India's indigenous 4G and upcoming 6G capabilities.
Key Points
- Internet access in India grew from 25 crore a decade ago to 100 crore today.
- Broadband access grew from 6 crore to 103 crore in 10 years.
- India's 5G rollout reached 99.9% of districts and nearly 85% of the population within 26 months.
- Data costs in India have fallen to around 10 cents per GB.
- UPI processed around 24,162 crore transactions worth approximately ₹314 lakh crore in FY 2025–26.
- India accounts for approximately 49% of the world's real-time digital payment volumes.
- Digital Bharat Nidhi is establishing around 22,000 towers across 34,000 villages without telecom connectivity.
- ASTR, an AI-powered tool, helped disconnect more than 88 lakh suspicious mobile connections.
Exam Angle
A. Approximately 49%
Source: Press Information Bureau