judge, and partner who have contributed to the success of this edition of the g20 techsprint. i also acknowledge the active contribution of the bis innovation hub in this entire journey. together, we have demonstrated the power of collaboration and the promise of innovation. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches let me now conclude by stating that innovation is at the heart of progress. in an increasingly complex and interconnected world, our economies, markets, and regulatory frameworks must evolve in tandem. the grand finale of the g20 techsprint is not just a celebration of technological advancement ; it is a testimony to our commitment to innovation as a driver of prosperity, resilience, and inclusion. in our pursuit of innovation, we must also recognise that technology is often accompanied by risks relating to market integrity, conduct, data privacy, security and ethics. innovation must, therefore, be accompanied by a commitment to responsible innovation - a pledge to balance progress with accountability ; disruption with safeguards ; and growth with ethics. this techsprint has showcased that innovation is not confined to the walls of laboratories or the realm of academia. it resides in the aspirations of people and nations. as we get closer to the g20 summit on 9th and 10th september, let us renew our commitment to realise the g20 theme of'one future '. we must embrace the spirit of global co - operation to make the benefits of technological advancements and innovations available to all. thank you and wish everyone all the best. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches

innovations in the fintech sector. today, there are more than 70 mobile apps and more than 50 million merchants, who accept upi payments. from financial inclusion through digital payments to using artificial intelligence ( ai ) for credit assessments, india's journey exemplifies innovation with a human touch. at the reserve bank, we are committed to promoting responsible innovation. as part of this, we have taken a few strategic steps in the recent past. on the institutional front, we have set up a fintech department in the reserve bank with the objective of paying dedicated attention to the fast - evolving fintech sector. the mandate of this department is to promote innovation while managing the associated risks, if any. similarly, we have 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches set up the reserve bank innovation hub ( rbih ) as a wholly owned subsidiary which is currently engaged in several innovative technology based projects touching people at the bottom of the pyramid. once fully scaled, these projects are expected to have transformational impact on the financial services ecosystem, particularly in the lending space. the reserve bank has also put in place a regulatory sandbox framework wherein innovators get the opportunity to test their products in controlled environment. the experience from the four cohorts, under this sandbox so far, has been encouraging. in fact, some of the products that successfully exited the sandbox environment have seen actual deployment. further, with a view to generate ideas for a specific problem, we have started conducting long - form hackathons known as harbinger. after successful completion of the first harbinger in 2021, the second hackathon is currently in progress. more recently, we have launched a pilot project on a public tech platform for frictionless credit. this platform was developed in association with the reserve bank innovation hub. as you would be aware, the data required for credit appraisal are available with different entities, and they are in separate systems, and these create frictions in timely delivery of loans to the needy. through this public end - to - end digital platform, we are enabling lenders to use the information available in multiple places for credit assessment and offer various lending products in a frictionless and speedy manner. this platform would obviate the need for multiple bilateral integrations of lenders with information providers. this end - to - end digital platform is expected to bring in greater efficiency to the entire process of delivery of credit in terms of reduction of costs, improving turn around time,