Budget 2025-26: A leap toward ‘Viksit Bharat’ with fintech at the forefront

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Budget 2025-26: A leap toward ‘Viksit Bharat’ with fintech at the forefront

Monday, 03 February 2025 | S Sundararajan

Budget 2025-26: A leap toward ‘Viksit Bharat’ with fintech at the forefront

Finance Minister has unveiled a forward-looking Budget that reinforces India’s commitment to financial inclusion, innovation and sustainable economic growth.

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a forward-thinking and progressive Union Budget 2025-26 that reinforces India’s steadfast journey toward Viksit Bharat. This year’s budget is a reflection of the government’s unwavering commitment to fostering financial inclusion, driving innovation and ensuring sustainable economic growth. By laying a robust foundation for a digital-first economy, it not only addresses the present needs of businesses and individuals but also sets a visionary course for the future of India’s financial ecosystem. 

The fintech sector has been a cornerstone of India’s digital transformation, playing an instrumental role in expanding financial accessibility, empowering MSMEs, and accelerating the adoption of digital transactions. The government’s continued emphasis on fostering a light-touch regulatory environment, strengthening digital public infrastructure, and enhancing credit availability for small businesses and startups is a significant step forward in unlocking new avenues for fintech innovation. These strategic measures will help fintech companies drive greater financial inclusion and economic resilience across the country. 

Some of the most impactful highlights of this budget for the fintech ecosystem include: 

Grameen Credit Score Framework – A groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming rural financial empowerment by enabling better credit access for Self-Help Group (SHG) members and underserved rural communities. This will facilitate greater participation of rural enterprises in the formal economy. 

Revamped Central KYC Registry – A much-needed step toward simplifying compliance requirements for financial institutions, reducing redundancies, and enhancing the ease of doing business across banking and fintech sectors. 

Expansion of Digital Public Infrastructure – Initiatives such as BharatTradeNet will play a pivotal role in streamlining trade financing and documentation processes, ensuring seamless digital transactions, and bolstering India’s position as a global trade hub. 

Higher Credit Availability for MSMEs and Startups – Enhanced credit card limits for micro-enterprises, alongside expanded guarantee cover programs, will provide vital financial support to budding entrepreneurs and small businesses, fueling economic growth and job creation. 

As we look ahead, the fiscal year 2025-26 presents enormous opportunities for fintech players like us at i-exceed to drive groundbreaking innovations in banking and financial services. With strong regulatory support and government-led initiatives, we are well-positioned to: Scale digital banking and embedded finance solutions to cater to unbanked and underbanked segments, fostering a more inclusive financial landscape. 

Leverage cutting-edge technologies such as AI, blockchain, and automation to enhance regulatory compliance, improve credit risk assessment, and strengthen fraud prevention mechanisms. 

Accelerate the adoption of digital lending and payment solutions by seamlessly integrating with India’s rapidly evolving financial ecosystem, thereby enhancing user experience and operational efficiencies. The budget’s strong focus on  inclusive growth, digital empowerment, and financial accessibility aligns perfectly with our vision of creating next-generation fintech solutions that bridge gaps, simplify processes, and unlock new growth opportunities for businesses and individuals alike. The year ahead promises to be a transformative one for India’s fintech landscape. We must seize this momentum, foster collaboration, and continue to innovate relentlessly.

(The writer is co-founder and CEOCompany: i-exceed technology solutions; views are personal)

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