Nithin Kamath attributes Zerodha’s success to govt’s tech initiatives

Nithin Kamath, CEO of Zerodha, India's largest online brokerage, has attributed his company's success to the government's key initiatives, which have led to "phenomenal" growth in Indian digital transactions.

"A big part of our success is that we were just lucky to be at the right place, right time. Indian capital markets wouldn't be what they are today without initiatives like Aadhaar, UPI & Digilocker," Kamath said via a tweet.

He said, “Growth in Indian digital transactions has been phenomenal thanks to the government”.

He also shared a screenshot of a recent economic update on India by US-based multinational investment bank and financial services company Morgan Stanley, which showed both GST collections and digital transactions as a percentage of GDP going up.

Morgan Stanley’s report on May 29 said in the past decade, India has "gained positions in the world order with significant positive consequences for the macro and market outlook". "This India is different from what it was in 2013...India has transformed in less than a decade."

The past decade has been significant for India, said the report, adding the country has gained major positions in the world order, which are bound to have a major impact on the macro and market outlook.

The latest report came after in November 2022, Morgan Stanley said India will become the third-largest economy by 2027 after the U.S. and China. This will propel its GDP from $3.4 trillion currently to $8.5 trillion over the next decade, it said.

Notably, the government collected gross Goods & Services Tax (GST) of ₹1,57,090 crore in May 2023, recording 12% year-on-year growth, the Ministry of Finance data shows. The monthly GST revenue has remained more than ₹1.4 lakh crore for 14 months in a row, and it crossed ₹1.5 lakh crore mark for the 5th time since the inception of the GST regime in the country.

UPI also remains the single largest retail payment system in India in terms of volume of transactions and has become one of the most inclusive modes of payment in India. According to PwC, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in the country are expected to reach 100 crore per day by 2026-27, accounting for 90% of retail digital payments.

Global financial agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also hailed India's digital stack, which refers to a set of shared digital building blocks, such as applications, systems, and platforms, powered by interoperable open standards or specifications.

“India’s foundational DPI, called India Stack, has been harnessed to foster innovation and competition, expand markets, close gaps in financial inclusion, boost government revenue collection and improve public expenditure efficiency. India’s journey in developing a world-class DPI highlights powerful lessons for other countries embarking on their own digital transformation,” a paper published by the International Monetary Fund in April 2023 said.