India’s Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran said on August 07, 2026, that India must take a proactive approach to artificial intelligence safety and security, especially in the financial sector. Speaking on the second day of ASSOCHAM’s third FinTech Festival in New Delhi, he warned that AI should not become a filter for exclusion and said humans must remain “in the loop” as firms adopt the technology.

Nageswaran made the remarks during a fireside chat with Gautam Aggarwal, Division President for South Asia and Country Corporate Officer, India, Mastercard. He said AI could help financial firms analyse creditworthiness more effectively and identify default risks or financial stress earlier, but its use should not create new barriers for borrowers or customers. “It’s important to ensure that AI doesn’t become a tool or a filter for exclusion,” he said.

Nageswaran said the next 20 years would be harder than the previous 30 years since India’s economic reforms began in 1991. He cited structural shifts in climate, technology, geopolitics and the weaponisation of various capabilities, and called on both public and private sectors to “up our game substantially” for the next 20 years.

On cross-border payments, Nageswaran said sustainable growth in payment flows depends more on the volume of trade in goods and services between countries than on payment systems alone. He said regulatory architecture and technology infrastructure are important preconditions, but cross-border payment activity would ultimately follow the size and flow of economies and transactions.

Nageswaran described fintech as an enabling sector that helps other parts of the economy absorb technology. He said fintech firms often operate with relatively limited capital compared with well-capitalised incumbents, so their impact is concentrated in areas such as SMEs, self-employed borrowers and retail personal finance. He cautioned against treating fintech or financial-sector activity as a standalone policy target relative to GDP, saying finance should follow the real economy.

India’s Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran said on August 07, 2026, that India must take a proactive approach to artificial intelligence safety and security, especially in the financial sector. Speaking on the second day of ASSOCHAM’s third FinTech Festival in New Delhi, he warned that AI should not become a filter for exclusion and said humans must remain “in the loop” as firms adopt the technology.

Nageswaran made the remarks during a fireside chat with Gautam Aggarwal, Division President for South Asia and Country Corporate Officer, India, Mastercard. He said AI could help financial firms analyse creditworthiness more effectively and identify default risks or financial stress earlier, but its use should not create new barriers for borrowers or customers. “It’s important to ensure that AI doesn’t become a tool or a filter for exclusion,” he said.

Nageswaran said the next 20 years would be harder than the previous 30 years since India’s economic reforms began in 1991. He cited structural shifts in climate, technology, geopolitics and the weaponisation of various capabilities, and called on both public and private sectors to “up our game substantially” for the next 20 years.

On cross-border payments, Nageswaran said sustainable growth in payment flows depends more on the volume of trade in goods and services between countries than on payment systems alone. He said regulatory architecture and technology infrastructure are important preconditions, but cross-border payment activity would ultimately follow the size and flow of economies and transactions.

Nageswaran described fintech as an enabling sector that helps other parts of the economy absorb technology. He said fintech firms often operate with relatively limited capital compared with well-capitalised incumbents, so their impact is concentrated in areas such as SMEs, self-employed borrowers and retail personal finance. He cautioned against treating fintech or financial-sector activity as a standalone policy target relative to GDP, saying finance should follow the real economy.