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India’s internet lobby gets new chiefs to shepherd digital policy
MUMBAI: India’s Internet and Mobile Association (IAMAI) has shuffled the deck at the top of its influential public policy committee, installing fresh leadership to guide the country’s booming digital sector through an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.
Amazon Web Services India & South Asia head of digital and AI policy Saurabh Singh, has been elected chairperson of the committee that shapes industry positions on everything from data governance to consumer protection. He replaces Vineeta Dixit of Spotify, who had steered the group through a period of rapid regulatory change.
Joining Singh as co-chairs are ride-hailing firm Rapido general counsel and head of corporate affairs & public policy Manasvi Mann, and Swedish caller-identification app Truecaller head of public affairs Seema Jindal. They take over from Senthil Kumar of agritech startup Ninjacart and Richa Mukherjee of fintech firm PayU.
The reshuffle comes as India’s digital economy hurtles towards the government’s ambitious target of reaching $1trillion in value. The IAMAI committee serves as the industry’s primary voice in policy discussions with New Delhi, weighing in on thorny issues like data localisation rules, platform liability and digital competition.
“Our focus will be on addressing critical digital policy matters that are relevant to our members whilst the ultimate goal would be to contribute to the national vision of building a $1 trillion digital economy,” Singh said following his appointment.
The new leadership takes charge at a pivotal moment. India’s tech sector faces mounting scrutiny over market dominance, data privacy and content moderation—issues that will require deft navigation of both domestic political pressures and global regulatory trends.
Jindal emphasised the need for industry-government collaboration to build “a safe and inclusive digital ecosystem” as India positions itself as a global digital leader. Her appointment brings telecoms expertise to a committee increasingly grappling with infrastructure and connectivity challenges.
The leadership change reflects IAMAI’s evolution from a relatively niche trade body to a powerful lobbying force representing hundreds of companies across India’s sprawling digital economy. As regulatory battles intensify, the new team will need to balance member interests whilst maintaining credibility with policymakers in the world’s most populous democracy.
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PNB partners Kiwi to launch credit-enabled UPI for users
Targets 180 million customers; RuPay card offers 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent cashback
MUMBAI: Swipe, tap, or scan credit is quietly slipping into the rhythm of everyday payments, and Punjab National Bank wants in on the action. The state-run lender has partnered with Kiwi to roll out credit-enabled UPI payments for its 180 million customers, marking a significant push to blend traditional banking with India’s fast-evolving digital payments ecosystem.
At the centre of the collaboration is the launch of the PNB Kiwi Credit Card on the RuPay network. The card is designed with a digital-first approach, offering fully online onboarding and seamless integration with UPI, allowing users to transact via scan-and-pay while accessing credit.
The offering also brings in a rewards layer, with cashback ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent on online transactions, positioning the product as both a convenience play and a spending incentive.
The move comes as UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, increasingly blurring the lines between debit-led transactions and credit access. For PNB, which operates over 10,000 branches around 60 per cent in semi-urban and rural areas, the partnership signals a targeted effort to extend formal credit to segments that have traditionally remained underserved.
The collaboration also reflects a broader industry shift, where banks and fintech platforms are converging to embed credit directly into payment flows, reducing friction while expanding access.
With RuPay credit cards gaining traction and UPI evolving beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the PNB–Kiwi tie-up positions both players at the intersection of scale, accessibility, and the next phase of digital finance in India.
