Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Singapore on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will attend the East Asia Summit, an ASEAN-India informal meet, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership summit and hold a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.
Pitching India as a favourite destination for investment at the Fintech Festival in Singapore, Modi said that financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians as he pitched India as a favourite destination for investment at the Fintech Festival in Singapore.
Modi became the first world leader to address the festival which was launched in 2016 and is in its third edition.
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"Financial inclusion has become reality for 1.3 billion Indians. We have generated more than 1.2 billion biometric identities- Aadhaar or foundation- in just a few years," Modi said at the event.
The Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) is already the world's largest event on financial technology – or fintech. In 2017, the event drew as many as 30,000 participants from over 100 countries.
The SFF involves a three-day conference, and exhibition of FinTech firms and capabilities, a global competition of FinTech solutions and a platform for matching entrepreneurs and investment capital.
Modi said through Aadhaar and cellphones, his government has launched Jan Dhan Yojana and opened 330 million new bank accounts in three years.
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"These are 330 million sources of identity, dignity and opportunities. Less than 50 per cent of Indian had bank accounts in 2014. Now, it is nearly universal. So today, more than a billion biometric identities, more than a billion bank accounts and more than a billion cell phones give India by far the biggest public infrastructure in the world," Modi said.
"We are in an age of a historic transition brought about by technology. From desktop to cloud, from Internet to social media, from IT Services to Internet of Things, we have come a long way in short time," he said.
After arriving in Singapore, Modi had tweeted, paareciating thos who had come to welcome him at the airport, saying, "Extremely touched by the affection of the Indian community in Singapore. Their warm welcome, so early in the morning amidst the rain, was touching. India’s diaspora makes our nation very proud. They have succeeded all over the world, in a wide range of areas," he tweeted.
Before leaving for Singapore, Modi said in New Delhi that his participation in the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits symbolised India's "continued commitment" to strengthen its engagement with ASEAN members and with the wider Indo-Pacific region.
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Modi also said he was confident that his visit to Singapore would impart fresh momentum to New Delhi's growing partnership with ASEAN and East Asia Summit nations.
The prime minister will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including US Vice President Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.
Pence will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the White House said Tuesday releasing the schedule of the Vice President Pence on the eve of the meeting.
The meeting is scheduled to take place 12.30 pm local Singapore time, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and a common vision for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, the WH said.
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PTI
