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, according to 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 described the event as 'one of the highlights of Indian financial calendar' and emphasized that 'This GFF has come out to be one of the large, literally the largest event of its type in the world'. He added that the event is 'a great, very well managed event' and congratulated the organisers and RBI and SEBI for organising this significant fintech gathering.
Addressing the Global Fintech Fest 2026 on Tuesday, 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. Modi emphasized that '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'. He stated that if the sector measured itself against these parameters, India's fintech industry could become 'a gateway to countless possibilities'.
The Global Fintech Fest 2026 is showcasing three transformative technologies that could reshape investing over the next decade: agentic AI, tokenisation, and quantum computing. According to the GFF website, agentic AI refers to the 'autonomous orchestration of complex financial workflows, personalised services at scale, and continuous risk monitoring with minimal human intervention'. As per Mint, AI agents could potentially monitor life goals, execute trades, and actively manage wealth within 5-10 years, moving beyond current capabilities of stock screening and algorithmic nudges that require manual approval. Tokenisation means making every asset programmable, divisible and instantly transferable on global infrastructure, with potential for ordinary investors to buy micro-fractions of commercial office buildings or private equity funds directly through brokerage apps. Quantum technology could transform security and computation at foundational levels, allowing platforms to run millions of risk scenarios in milliseconds and optimise portfolios.
On UPI's global expansion, Modi revealed that 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. Modi cited the India-Singapore payment linkage as an example and stated that 'similar connections should be built with other countries and markets, particularly where Indians live in large numbers or India has significant trade ties'. He noted that 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'.
On the broader economy, Modi highlighted that 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.
