Mumbai, Oct. 8 -- Financial inclusion in India still faces certain challenges, particularly in bringing communities living in tribal and rural areas into the formal financial system, said M Nagaraju, Secretary, Ministry of Finance.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai, Nagaraju noted that while digital payment platforms, such as UPI, have experienced significant growth, there are still gaps that need to be addressed in rural connectivity and financial access.

"UPI growth has been very substantial even now, but one challenge we have is bringing entire communities living in tribal and rural areas into a formal financial system. At many places, we also have the challenge of the internet. Therefor...