Gujarat’s start-up ecosystem makes a splash, SSIP 2.0 Policy and i-Hub serve as key facilitators

Mumbai, Oct 8 (IANS) Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Wednesday that the RBI has conceptualised a Unified Market Interface (UMI) and work is underway to develop standards for customer onboarding on digital platforms.

Addressing the Global Fintech Fest 2025 event here, Malhotra also said that the proposed “Unified Lending Interface (ULI) aims to enable the use of data for lenders to build alternative credit models just as UPI has done in the payment space”.

He urged fintech firms to “design products and services that are easy to use, accessible for all, with assistive technologies, ensuring that the vulnerable groups such as the senior citizens, individuals with limited digital literacy and the specially-abled are not left behind.”

Observing that India has a vibrant fintech ecosystem and the fintech industry has made it possible to deliver financial services at scale and affordable cost, he said, the country has close to 10,000 entities.

Malhotra also flagged the issue of growing digital fraud and made a strong case for making efforts to curb the menace.

The RBI Governor further stated that artificial intelligence (AI) holds the potential to fundamentally enhance the next generation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

He highlighted a five-point mantra for fintechs to enhance financial inclusion and spur digitalisation in the economy.

Malhotra urged fintechs to improve access for less-developed regions of India, designing products that are intuitive and easy to use for populations with lower digital literacy.

The RBI Governor advised them to adopt a customer-first approach by creating frictionless experiences so that customers rarely need to rely on support, reducing pain points and improving engagement.

He underlined that fintechs should extend the success of digital payments to small businesses and other underserved segments, exploring new products and services that enhance financial accessibility.

Malhotra further stated that compliance, data protection, transparency, and robust safeguards should be at the core of product design to foster confidence among users.

–IANS

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Mumbai, Dec 1 (IANS) Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday announced a revised poll process for 24 nagar parishads, including their presidents and 154 wards in the other 76 nagar parishads and nagar panchayats, and accordingly, the elections will now be held on December 20 and counting on December 21.

The SEC decided to reschedule these polls in the cases of appeals filed in the District Court against the decision of the Returning Officer in elections to the nagar parishads and Nage panchayats.

However, the SEC in a release clarified that the polling for the other nagar parishads and nagar panchayats will he held on December 2 as per the scheduled poll programme announced earlier.

“The SEC had announced the schedule for the general elections of 246 Municipal Councils and 42 Nagar Panchayats in the state on November 4. Now, since the decision of the appeal cases against the decision of the Returning Officer will be taken on or after November 23, the election process will be implemented as per the revised schedule in the relevant places,” it said.

The SEC said that the election process will be implemented as per the revised schedule for the entire area of the nagar parishads and nagar panchayats where the decision of the appeals regarding the post of president has come late.

“There is a provision in the law to hold simultaneous elections for the posts of members along with the post of president. However, in places where there is an appeal for the post of member, the revised election program will be implemented only for that place,” it said.

With Monday’s announcement, voting in 10 per cent of nagar parishads and nagar panchayats remains postponed.

The SEC further said that, as per the revised schedule for the phases after the appeal period, nomination papers can now be withdrawn till 3 pm on December 10. The final list of candidates contesting the election and allocation of election symbols will be done on December 11. Polling will be held on December 20 and counting on December 21.

All political parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress, had raised objections over the SEC decision to postpone elections just 48 hours before the voting.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed displeasure with the decision, saying he disagrees with the SEC and alleged that the prevalent acts have been misinterpreted.

“I have no idea which act the state election commission is following and who is advising them. As far as my study goes and my knowledge of election acts goes and my interaction with other lawyers are concerned, they all told me that elections cannot be postponed like this,” he said, while speaking to journalists in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

He added that he disagrees with the decision.

Maharashtra BJP chief Ravindra Chavan wrote to the SEC demanding that the decision be changed, terming it improper. The opposition Congress, too, slammed the SEC for the last-minute changes, adding that it has failed to conduct the elections in a transparent and free manner.

“It seems it is not capable of conducting the elections,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal.

The SEC has completed the preparations for the first phase of Nagar Parishads and Nagar Panchayats elections, being held on December 2, and the counting to take place on December 3.

The police have deployed security personnel to ensure smooth polling. In some districts, rural police have initiated 24×7 drone patrolling, and additional forces will be stationed at sensitive polling centres. A holiday has been declared on December 2.

Voters are banned from taking mobile phones inside the polling centre. A room for depositing mobile phones will be provided, where possible, within the polling centre building but outside the actual polling area.

A total of 288 Election Returning Officers and 288 Assistant Election Returning Officers have been appointed for these elections. Additionally, 66,775 election officers and employees have been deployed.

Meanwhile, the local body polls have been marred by controversies from the beginning. In May, the Supreme Court asked the SEC to complete the process of local body polls before January 31, 2026. The state has not witnessed local body polls, for nagar parishads, nagar panchayats, zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and municipal corporations for the last five to three years due to the row over the OBC reservation.

On November 4, the SEC announced the poll process for the municipal council and municipal panchayat. Before this, the opposition parties had raised objections alleging a faulty voters’ list and widespread irregularities. Several petitioners approached the Supreme Court, alleging crossing of 50 per cent political reservation in various local bodies that delayed the announcement of Zilla Parishad and Municipal Corporation polls.

Last week, even though the apex court gave its go-ahead to the polls, the result of local bodies with more than 50 per cent political reservation (nagar parishads and nagar panchayats) will be subject to the future verdict of the court in this case.

Additionally, the SEC is unlikely to proceed with the election in Zilla Parishad and panchayat samitis where the said limit is crossed, as the court has not given any directions regarding the same.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva and General Secretary and MP Yogendra Chandolia hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday for ignoring the Dalit community’s welfare in the city and indulging in optics to mislead the community.

Sachdeva said it is sad to see that the AAP leaders, every other day, try to invoke the name of Bharat Ratna B.R. Ambedkar in political discussions for their petty political survival.

“In 10 years of the AAP government in Delhi, they did nothing except renaming 31 Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidhyalaya as B.R. Ambedkar School of Excellence and rendering them worthless by affiliating them to a newly set up Delhi Board of School Education,” he said.

Sachdeva said the Board had no credibility, and some students who did Class XII from there couldn’t manage to get admissions in any higher education university.

“This led to mass quitting by students from these schools,” he said.

Sachdeva alleged that Arvind Kejriwal did nothing for promoting specialised education for deprived students, as 70 per cent of Delhi government schools had no facility to teach either science or commerce at the senior secondary level.

Chandolia said that AAP leaders should note that the cause of Dalits’ upliftment cannot be fulfilled by just putting up Baba Saheb’s photographs.

“For a true tribute to Baba Saheb, all governments need to work for providing proper education, fair job opportunities and total social integration in society for Dalit students,” he said.

Sachdeva asked the AAP leaders to list five works that their government did for the Dalit community in Delhi.

He also shared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives to promote the community’s welfare. These initiatives included Panchteerth Development, which involved the development of five important sites associated with Ambedkar’s life, including his birthplace in Mhow, the place of study in London, Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur, Mahaparinirvan Sthal in Delhi, and Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai.

The Delhi BJP chief said PM Modi also inaugurated an Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi as a tribute to the Father of the Indian Constitution.

The other welfare schemes of the PM Modi’s government include Babasaheb Ambedkar Awas Navinkaran Yojana, Ambedkar Centres of Excellence in 31 central universities, Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission and Unveiling of commemorative coins on Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary; Constitutional Values: Emphasis on Ambedkar’s principles of social harmony, equality, and justice in governance.

–IANS

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