PM Modi pitches India as favourite investment destination at Fintech Festival in Singapore
Singapore, Nov 14 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday 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 here.
Modi became the first world leader to address the festival which was launched in 2016 and is in its third edition.
"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.
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Karnataka panel backs move to grant second official language status to Tulu
Mangaluru (PTI): A high-level committee constituted by the Karnataka government to study the framework adopted by Andhra Pradesh for recognising Urdu as a second official language has submitted its report, backing the state’s move to accord similar status to Tulu.
The six-member panel, headed by K M Gayatri, former Director of the Kannada and Culture Department, examined the procedures followed by the Andhra Pradesh government before granting second official language status to Urdu, officials said on Wednesday.
The committee undertook a field visit to the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat on January 19 and 20 and held consultations with senior officials to understand the legal provisions, administrative mechanisms, and implementation benchmarks involved, they said.
The panel also included Tharanatha Gatti Kapikad, president of the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, in an advisory capacity.
The report, along with a detailed note outlining Tulu’s historical, linguistic, and cultural significance, was submitted to J Manjunath, Secretary, Kannada and Culture Department, at Vikas Soudha here.
According to official sources, the study was aimed at gathering inputs to help Karnataka frame criteria and procedural guidelines if it decides to grant second official language status to Tulu.
Senior officials present at the submission included B S Manjunath Swami, Director of the Kannada and Culture Department; representatives of the Law Department and the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department; and office-bearers of various state academies.
Tulu is predominantly spoken in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, and in parts of Kasaragod in neighbouring Kerala.
The demand to accord it second official language status in Karnataka has been raised by cultural organisations for several years.
