The Storyboard18 DNPA Conclave and Awards 2024 commenced in Delhi with Manoj Gujaran, Chief Compliance Officer and Head, Legal & CSR, Poonawalla Fincorp. Manoj Gujaran delivered the keynote address, which he started by expressing gratitude to the Storyboard18 team and DNPA for organising the DNPA Conclave. He spoke of the importance of this event and how it acts as a platform to recognise digital initiatives contributing to India’s progress. He also congratulated the winners, acknowledging the efforts of all the nominees and highlighting the impact of their innovations.
Gujaran acknowledged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership in driving India’s digital-first approach and emphasised the country’s emergence as a global powerhouse. He said India will achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 with the government’s support for digitalisation, innovation, integration of emerging technologies, and industry collaboration.
The speech underscored the role of digitalisation, which has influenced India’s economic growth, and the digital public infrastructure that has played a pivotal role in the formalisation of the economy. It also highlighted the government’s commitment to invest in new-age digital technologies against the backdrop of the recent interim budget.
Gujaran commended the government by stating, “Rapid digitalisation has been instrumental in India’s growth, and digital public infrastructure has played a crucial role in the formalisation of the economy. With announcements from the recently presented interim budget, it is clear that the government will continue to invest in new-age digital technologies that are changing the lives of people and businesses. Government and industry collaboration will simplify access in high-demand areas and pave the way for achieving the $5 trillion economy goal.”
He added, ”I would like to appreciate the government’s focus on the Skill India Mission, which has trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and reskilled 54 lakh youth, and established 3,000 new Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), which are critical for the development of a skilled workforce. This will help in addressing the artificial intelligence (AI) skill crunch and bridge the talent gap effectively.”
Gujaran dwelt on the surge in fintech NBFC lending to young borrowers and the estimated growth of India’s digital consumer lending market, highlighting the opportunities for the financial sector. “Owing to the rapid adoption of digital platforms and devices among the younger population in the country, fintech NBFC lending to young borrowers has surged by 100x between 2015 and 2021. The Indian digital consumer lending market is projected to surpass $720 billion by 2030, representing nearly 55 percent of India’s total $1.3 trillion digital lending market opportunity. Thus, there is ample growth opportunity for India’s financial sector in the near foreseeable future,” said Gujaran.
He emphasised Poonawalla Fincorp’s commitment to delivering a hassle-free digital lending experience under the leadership of Abhay Bhutada. He stated, “The focus on digitisation of processes, along with the use of robotic process automation in operations, has helped us make the process faster, error-free, and scalable. With a digital-first approach at its core, Poonawalla Fincorp is uniquely positioned to further disrupt the lending business and become the lender of choice.”
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