Tech Transfer, Pooling Funds Must To Meet Climate Goals, Says Finance Minister
Seven countries have expressed interest in India's Unified Payments Interface, she said.
There is a need for greater global cooperation among countries, including a transfer of technology and pooling of funds by countries, to achieve climate commitments, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
"We need more global cooperation and less talk," said Sitharaman, while speaking on the future of finance at a leadership event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
At COP15, held in 2009 in Copenhagen, developed countries had committed to a collective goal of mobilising $100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries. The goal was later extended to 2025. Sitharaman said the contribution remains unmet.
With respect to environment and climate fairness, Sitharaman said the per capita emissions in India are lower than other countries.
India's Fintech Success
The Finance Minister said that the Unified Payments Interface has set global benchmarks in terms of ease of transaction.
Seven countries have expressed interest in India's UPI, she said.
India's UPI is targeting to process 1 billion transactions per day in five years, Sitharaman said.
According to her, the link between startups, fintech and the role of private equity as a financer is clear. Private equity has played the role of supporting fintech startups in the country, she said, while mentioning growth in the size of private equity from $2 trillion in 2010 to $6 trillion in 2021.
"40-45% fintech startups come from tier 2 cities... There are 6,636 startups and 21 unicorns in fintech," she said.
The Union Finance Minister also sees a major role for artificial intelligence in fintech “for detecting crime, fraud prevention and quantifying and assessing risks".