Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed Singapore's FinTech 2018. This is world's largest financial technology festival. Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister said Fintech is a celebration of belief in the spirit of innovation and power of technology.

PM Narendra Modi is the first Head of Government to address the FinTech Festival as a keynote speaker.

Prime Minister Narendra 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.
    
"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.

"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.

The SFF 2018 will take place from 12-16 November 2018, with the conference taking place from 12-14 November 2018.

FinTech festival 2018 will feature over 30,000 participants from over 100 countries. Participants include 230 leading experts from public policy, finance and technology over 70 sessions. Additionally, about 400 exhibitors from about 40 countries will be there. 16 countries are setting up country pavilions.

With 18 participants, India Pavilion will have the highest number of companies among the 16 country pavilions in the Exhibition. The other 16 Indian participants would be located in thematic sections relating to their areas of interest.