Speaking at the 90th Foundation Day event of the Bank of Maharashtra, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised the banking sector's vital role in realising India’s goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047. She noted that banks would be instrumental in boosting infrastructure, supporting MSMEs, and bringing more of the unbanked population into the formal financial system.
"Banks will have to play a crucial role in driving the agenda set by the Prime Minister and by your role, we are going to give greater momentum to achieving this dream," she said.
Digital banking revolution and cybersecurity
Sitharaman also underscored the importance of digital transformation in banking. She emphasised the need for banks to maintain strong cybersecurity measures to protect the trust of their customers. With growing digital adoption, robust systems are critical to safeguarding against potential breaches, she said.
However, she added that "you (banks) cannot have a digital system which somewhere gets hacked, and the entire system and the trust which is laid on it getting compromised.
So you need to have a robust and resilient system for which every now and then you need to make sure that the firewalls are adequate, any emergency drill which you need to do, what if situation so you know to handle if there is an emergency in terms of digital insecure incidents".
UPI's global reach and growing popularity
The Finance Minister lauded the success of UPI in driving digital payments, noting that 45% of global real-time digital payments are made in India. UPI is now operational in seven countries, reflecting India’s leadership in the global digital payments space.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that banks are crucial in India's journey to becoming a developed nation by 2047. She urged banks to drive infrastructure growth, support MSMEs, expand financial inclusion, and strengthen digital security. She also highlighted the success of UPI, which now handles 45% of global real-time payments.
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