BENGALURU: In two and half years, the concept of debit, credit cards and ATMs will be redundant in India, predicted Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer of NITI Ayog while chairing a session on "Startups and Innovations which had Social Impact in India" in the city. He said almost all the Indians will be doing bank transactions in less than 30 seconds with the help of their thumb impressions in the near future.
"People in rural areas can adapt more quickly to such technology than the literate individuals in urban areas," he said. Speaking at the session held as part of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, he said that development of disruptive financial technology solutions and social innovation will "allow India to leapfrog into the future."
Per capita
Stating that the Centre had a growth target from seven to 10 per cent, he detailed how it would translate to improvement in standards of life among the population. "If we grow at 7 per cent, per capita income will increase to 4,000 dollars, while a growth at 10 per cent will push our per capita income to 7,000 dollars," he said. He also highlighted some of the significant startups that have developed disruptive tech, to aid the growth and development of India.
Venture captial
Venkatesh Shukla, general partner at Monta Vista Capital, said that 90 per cent of the venture capital for startups came from outside India.
Maintaining that such skewed investment pattern for startups should change completely, he said that the situation was already changing. "In the last few years, India has reached a tipping point, where entrepreneurs and others have got involved in pushing for social causes. This is one of the most gratifying developments in the country over the past two to three years," he said.
Professor Anil Kumar Gupta, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, said that India should concentrate on 'crowdsourcing ideas to solve its problems'. Moreover, investment in startups should become a sport, he added.