India, May 13 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
Key Takeaways
JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile)
BhashaDaan collects speech, text, and translations from people across India and uses them to train AI systems.
Mule accounts, frequently used to launder money and facilitate cybercrime, have consistently posed difficulties for traditional detection approaches.
Digital ShramSetu
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to interoperable digital systems- such as digital identity, payment platforms, and data exchange frameworks that enable secure and efficient service delivery.
Account Aggregators (AAs) are NBFCs that facilitate the retrieval and consolidation of a customer's financial information. They transfer data from one financial institution to another based on an individual's instruction and consent.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
BHASHINI
RBI Regulatory Sandbox
MuleHunter.AI
Alternative Credit Scoring (AI-Led Lending)
Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data with each other.
Account Aggregator (AA) framework
Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
CIBIL Score, issued by Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL), is a three-digit numeric summary of a user's credit profile and loan-worthiness, based on past repayment behaviour and credit records.
Reimagining Financial Inclusion in a Digital-First Economy
India's financial inclusion journey is undergoing a paradigm shift, driven by the convergence of a strong Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). What began as an effort to expand basic banking access has evolved into a technology-led ecosystem focused on delivering intelligent, inclusive, and real-time financial services at scale. Leveraging vast digital footprints, advanced analytics, and consent-based data-sharing frameworks, AI is transforming how financial services are designed and delivered- enhancing efficiency, expanding outreach, and enabling more personalized financial solutions.
The transformation is particularly impactful for the underserved and "new-to-credit" segments, including MSMEs, informal workers, rural populations, and women-led enterprises. By reducing information asymmetries and moving beyond traditional credit assessment models, AI is unlocking access to formal finance, strengthening risk management, and improving financial resilience. As India advances towards a digitally empowered economy, AI is not only accelerating financial inclusion but also reshaping the financial ecosystem into one that is more responsive, secure, and future-ready.
Digital Solutions Transforming Financial Access
Financial inclusion is the process of ensuring access to financial services, with timely, adequate and affordable credit primarily for vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low-income groups. In India, this has evolved from a policy goal into a digital-first reality. Over the past decade, a suite of interoperable digital platforms has transformed financial access from a policy objective into a scalable, technology-driven reality.
This transformation is anchored in foundational systems enabling identity verification, seamless payments, and direct benefit delivery. These systems ensure that financial services are accessible, affordable, and efficient across geographies. Together, they form the backbone of an integrated ecosystem that supports last-mile connectivity and future innovations.
JAM is a foundational convergence of universal bank accounts, biometric identity, and mobile connectivity. Its motive is to provide every citizen with a unique financial identity and a direct link to the state, ensuring that geography is no longer a barrier to financial access.
UPI is a real-time payment system that allows for instant money transfers between any two bank accounts via a mobile platform. It aims to democratize digital payments by offering a low-cost, interoperable, and secure experience for both small merchants and individual users.
Under DBT system, government subsidies and welfare benefits are directly transferred into the bank accounts of beneficiaries. Its primary goal is to enhance transparency and efficiency by removing intermediaries, thereby eliminating leakages and delays in the delivery of social welfare.
Together, these digital systems have created a robust, interoperable, and data-rich financial ecosystem. Such strong digital foundation not only enables inclusive financial participation but also generates the data and infrastructure necessary for AI powered innovation in financial services.
Enabling AI in Finance: Policy Push and Ecosystem Support
The integration of AI in financial services, backed by digital solutions, is supported by regulatory innovation, institutional initiatives, and financial literacy programs. These efforts are designed to strengthen risk management and consumer protection while ensuring that technology remains inclusive. Numerous initiatives have been taken that represent the core of India's policy-driven approach to creating a secure and inclusive AI-financial ecosystem:
Together, these policy initiatives ensure that AI adoption remains secure, inclusive, and transparent, aligning with India's long-term vision of a digitally empowered society.
AI-Based Credit Scoring: Expanding Access to Formal Credit
Digital advancements and AI are reshaping India's credit ecosystem by strengthening credit assessment and expanding lending access. Traditionally, access to formal credit was limited by the lack of verifiable financial histories, particularly for MSMEs, informal workers, and first-time borrowers. AI-powered solutions move beyond conventional credit scoring models and leverage alternative data such as digital payment transactions, GST filings, bank statements, and utility payments to assess creditworthiness. By converting digital footprints into dynamic risk profiles, AI enables faster, more accurate, and cost-efficient underwriting decisions. Moreover, AI-driven credit models have the potential to unlock an estimated credit gap of USD 130-170 billion in economic value thereby, reducing reliance on informal lending by MSMEs.
For the millions of Indians without a CIBIL score, AI serves as the new gatekeeper to credit. By leveraging the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), AI models analyze "digital footprints" to assess risk. ULI is a technology-based initiative to make frictionless credit available to every Indian and to further the Government's broader vision of digital empowerment, financial inclusion, and last-mile service delivery. It functions as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in the lending space, integrating financial institutions and data providers through a standardised, API-based framework to support efficient and inclusive credit assessment.
Complementing these advancements is the Account Aggregator (AA) framework, introduced by the Reserve Bank of India as a financial data sharing system. The AA system enables consent-based, secure sharing of financial data across institutions, significantly reducing documentation requirements and turnaround time for loan approvals.
The AA Framework, allows users to aggregate their financial information (like bank accounts, investments, loans, etc.) from multiple sources and share it with service providers (e.g., lenders, wealth managers) for services like loan applications or financial planning. Registration with the AA ecosystem is entirely voluntary for users. Currently, the RBI has granted Certificates of Registration to seventeen companies to operate as Account Aggregators.
It caters to the expanding market adoption across banking, securities, insurance, and pension sectors. With over 2.6 billion accounts enabled to share data, a total of 252.9 million users have linked their accounts on the AA framework (as on 31st December 2025). Notably, the AA ecosystem is strengthening the digital credit infrastructure and enhancing the effectiveness of AI-based credit models.
Conclusion
India's financial inclusion journey is transitioning from expanding access to enabling intelligent, AI-driven financial empowerment at scale. By leveraging advanced analytics, alternative data, and robust DPI, the focus is shifting towards deeper credit penetration, enhanced risk management, and stronger consumer protection. The evolving ecosystem anchored in collaborative efforts between regulators, financial institutions and fintechs, supported by frameworks such as the Account Aggregator is fostering a more transparent, efficient, and inclusive financial system.
As India advances towards its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, AI-led financial inclusion is set to play a pivotal role in driving sustainable economic growth, positioning the country as a global leader in building a resilient, future-ready financial architecture.
References
Ministry of Finance
https://financialservices.gov.in/beta/en/account-aggregator-framework
https://www.pmjdy.gov.in/home
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2139039®3&lang2
https://cga.nic.in/Page/Direct-Beneficiary-Transfer-DBT.aspx
Ministry of Electronics & IT
https://www.psa.gov.in/CMS/web/sites/default/files/publication/WEF_Transforming_Small_Businesses_2025.pdf?utm_source
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2232343®3&lang2
https://bhashini.gov.in/about-bhashini
https://bhashini.gov.in/
National Payments Corporation of India
https://www.npci.org.in/
Reserve Bank Of India
https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/PublicationReport/Pdfs/FREEAIR130820250A24FF2D4578453F824C72ED9F5D5851.PDF
https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Publications/PDFs/0RTP291220258C89B9E5F3F240AEB82AC25A1707A8C6.PDF
https://www.fidcindia.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/RBI-ENABLING-FRAMEWORK-FOR-REGULATORY-SANDBOX-28-02-24.pdf
https://fintech.rbi.org.in/FS_Publications?id1262#C2
https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid59245
https://www.rbi.org.in/commonman/Upload/English/Content/PDFs/English_16042021.pdfhttps://www.rbi.org.in/commonman/Upload/English/Content/PDFs/English_16042021.pdf
NITI Aayog
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2176362®3&lang2#:~:textTo%20address%20this%2C%20NITI%20Aayog%20has%20called,increase%20productivity%2C%20and%20ensure%20dignity%20in%20work
India AI
https://indiaai.gov.in/article/rbi-s-ai-initiative-mulehunter-ai-ai-solution-to-tackle-digital-fraud-in-india
International Organisations
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099031325132018527/pdf/P179614-3e01b947-cbae-41e4-85dd-2905b6187932.pdf
https://www.undp.org/digital/digital-public-infrastructure
PIB Archives
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID2235812®3&lang1
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Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
