Mumbai, 7 October 2025

The Global Fintech Fest, currently underway in Mumbai from 7th to 9th October 2025, hosted an insightful panel discussion on the topic “Insight Fusion: Building the Future of Fintech with Survey & Industry Data.” On the first day of the conference, the discussion focused on the importance of building a strong national data infrastructure, and the key roles played by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).

The panel was moderated by M. S. Subramanya Rao, Deputy Director General, CQCD, NSO, MoSPI. Panelists included Soumya Chakraborty, Deputy Director General, EnSD, NSO, MoSPI; K. Balachandran, CEO & Co-founder, IRIS; Rakesh Dosi, Chief Business Officer, Protean Technology; and Beni Chugh, Practice Head, Dvara Research.

The panel emphasised the crucial role of official data collected through government surveys in supporting financial inclusion, digital innovation, and socio-economic development in India. They highlighted how data from MoSPI and NSSO, such as household consumption expenditure, labour force and time-use surveys, and enterprise surveys, are essential in understanding emerging trends.

Soumya Chakraborty shared that FinTech companies rely significantly on publicly available, high-quality, anonymised microdata from NSSO for product design, financial simulations, market segmentation, and understanding consumption and digital behaviour patterns. He stressed that this data forms the backbone of many innovative financial products and services.

The panel also discussed blind spots in current data, especially concerning MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) and unregistered or household-based businesses that often remain outside formal databases. These gaps limit efforts to improve financial inclusion.

Panelists agreed that NSSO’s enterprise surveys play a vital role in identifying and profiling these underserved segments. Such data can enable policymakers and fintech companies to design better-targeted solutions for rural households and informal businesses, contributing to more inclusive economic growth.

There was strong interest among the speakers in promoting collaborative models, AI-readiness, data privacy, and infrastructure improvements to better serve underrepresented populations and support the evolving fintech ecosystem.

 

PIB Mumbai | Harshal Akude/Priti Malandkar

 

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