Citizen Observation 42 of 777 | Global Fintech Fest | What If the Fest Travelled Every Alternate Year?

 Published on 4^th September 2026

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru

https://in.linkedin.com/in/prashantnayakanti

 

The Intro

Open LinkedIn today or any Finance News Channel

Mumbai seems to have become a fintech newsroom.

Post after post.

GFF.

Fintech.

Payments.

AI.

Tokenisation.

Quantum.

Startups.

Regulators.

Investors.

And somewhere behind all those posts is one city:

Mumbai.

Bandra Kurla Complex.

Jio World Centre.

Trident BKC.

The financial capital.

The familiar home of the Global Fintech Fest.

And I started wondering from Bengaluru:

What if, every alternate year, GFF travelled to another Indian city?

Not permanently.

Not instead of Mumbai.

Just every alternate year.

A Little History

GFF began in 2020, with its early editions shaped by the virtual format of the pandemic period. The GFF website maintains archives going back to 2020. (Global Fintech Fest)

By 2022, GFF had a physical edition at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, alongside its virtual component. (Global Fintech Fest)

And GFF 2023 was described by the organisers as its second physical edition, again at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. (Global Fintech Fest)

Today, GFF 2026 is being held from 8–11 September at Jio World Centre and Trident BKC, Mumbai. (Global Fintech Fest)

Mumbai has clearly become its home.

Perhaps now comes a different question.

 

Act I — Mumbai Has Earned Its Place

There is something special about GFF in Mumbai.

From BKC to Nariman Point.

From the BSE to the NSE.

From Fort to Lower Parel.

From Powai to Andheri.

From the airport to the conference halls.

Mumbai already speaks the language of finance.

And GFF has grown here.

Today, it brings together policymakers, regulators, central bankers, financial institutions, technology companies, startups and investors from across the world. (Global Fintech Fest)

So I am not suggesting:

Move GFF out of Mumbai.

Mumbai has earned its place.

I am wondering about something else.

What if GFF stayed in Mumbai every alternate year — and, in the year between, travelled to another Indian city?

Not a replacement.

A rotation.

 

Act II — The Year Between

Imagine the next GFF.

Not in Mumbai.

In Bengaluru.

MG Road.

Koramangala.

Indiranagar.

Whitefield.

Electronic City.

Startup founders arriving.

Bankers arriving.

Investors arriving.

Fintech enthusiasts arriving.

The GFF signs appearing across the city.

And the year after that?

Mumbai again.

Then perhaps:

Hyderabad.

HITEC City.

Gachibowli.

Financial District.

Then Mumbai again.

Then Chennai.

Guindy.

Taramani.

OMR.

Then Mumbai.

Then Pune.

Ahmedabad.

Kochi.

Delhi–NCR.

Bhubaneswar.

Jaipur.

Different cities.

Different fintech communities.

One GFF.

Every alternate year, another city gets its turn.

 

Act III — A City Should Not Have To Do It Alone – A State Partner

Of course, moving a global event is not simply about choosing a convention centre.

There is travel.

Hotels.

Airport connectivity.

Local transport.

Security.

Venues.

Digital infrastructure.

State and local administration.

Business ecosystem.

Volunteers.

Hospitality.

And hundreds of small things that nobody notices when they work perfectly.

So perhaps, whenever GFF travels outside Mumbai, there could be something else:

A Partner State.

Imagine:

GFF 2028 — Bengaluru, Karnataka.

with the Government of Karnataka as the Partner State.

Or:

GFF 2030 — Hyderabad, Telangana.

Or:

GFF 2032 — Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The exact model?

I leave that entirely to the GFF organisers.

The thought is simply that the host state becomes part of the journey — particularly around the logistics required to make a global event work smoothly.

Because GFF would not merely be coming to a city.

The city and the state would be welcoming GFF.

---

The Whiteboard

EVERY ALTERNATE YEAR, CAN GFF TRAVEL BEYOND MUMBAI?

Nothing More. Nothing Less.

---

The Citizen Observation

India's fintech story is no longer confined to one geography.

It is visible in Bengaluru.

Hyderabad.

Chennai.

Pune.

Ahmedabad.

Kochi.

Delhi.

Gurugram.

Jaipur.

Bhubaneswar.

And countless other places.

People in these cities are not merely watching fintech happen.

They are building it.

Using it.

Funding it.

Regulating it.

Researching it.

And talking about it.

Perhaps they should get to experience the joy of GFF in their own city too.

Not every year.

Not as a replacement for Mumbai.

Just:

Mumbai one year.
Another Indian city the next.
Mumbai again.
Another city again.

A rhythm.

A rotation.

A journey.

 

Closing Thought

GFF started in 2020.

It evolved through virtual and physical formats.

And today, in 2026, it has become a major global fintech gathering in Mumbai. (Global Fintech Fest)

Perhaps the next evolution doesn't have to be another technology.

Perhaps it could simply be geography.

Because India's fintech story has many addresses.

Maybe the Global Fintech Fest can have more than one.

Mumbai gave GFF a home.
Perhaps India can give GFF a journey.

---

April 11 - Digital Transactions Day

April 11 – The start of UPI

Digital Transactions Day is about looking beyond the transaction.

Sometimes, the larger opportunity is to ask:

Can a digital ecosystem become more accessible by taking the experience closer to people?

GFF already connects the world with India's fintech ecosystem.

Perhaps, every alternate year, it could also connect India's fintech cities with GFF.

---

Disclaimer

This Citizen Observation is a personal suggestion based on publicly available information about the Global Fintech Fest and its evolution since 2020.

It does not prescribe a venue, city, host-state arrangement, funding model, logistics model, or implementation mechanism.

The choice of venue, city, partner state, format and operational model rests entirely with the GFF organisers and relevant stakeholders.

Citizen suggestion only.

Copyrights, if, any belong to the original copyright holders only.

 

The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

Citizen Observation 41 of 777 | PM Shri Narendra Modiji in Vadodara | How Will the Waiting List Guests Get a Chance?

 Published on 4^th September 2026

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru

https://in.linkedin.com/in/prashantnayakanti

 

The Intro

Few hours from now i.e 8 September 2026, PM Shri Narendra Modiji will be in Vadodara for a public programme at the Maharaja Sayajirao University Pavilion Ground.

I am sitting here in Bengaluru, looking at what has already happened digitally.

Registrations filled.

Registrations closed.

And then came something interesting:

A waiting list.

Thousands are waiting for a chance to attend.

Tomorrow, the doors open.

And a simple question comes to mind:

If registered guests don't arrive, can the waiting list get a chance?

Trigger

The official BookMyShow listing shows the event as a registered-entry programme, while reports on September 7 said the available capacity was filled rapidly and 42,000+ people were on the waiting list.

That makes this different from another recent Bengaluru experience.

For the Bengaluru Independence Habba, once capacity was reached, the digital journey simply said:

REGISTRATIONS CLOSED

Here, the journey appears to continue.

There is a waiting list.

And that makes me curious about what happens when the event clock starts ticking.

Because a registered guest may not arrive.

And someone on the waiting list may be ready to come.

But how much time would that person have?

Five minutes?
Thirty minutes?
An hour?

I don't know.

And perhaps that is exactly the question worth observing.

---

Prospective Audience

For the person who registered and may or may not make it.

For the person sitting on the waiting list, hoping for a chance.

For the event organiser managing a fixed physical capacity.

And for anyone wondering whether a digital registration system can eventually do more than say:

You are registered.

Could it also help answer:

Who gets the next available opportunity?

Tomorrow, Vadodara may give us the first glimpse.

Act I — The Place That Was Taken

Tonight, a place exists.

Someone registered.
A confirmation was received.
A digital entry awaits.

For another person, that opportunity is already gone.

The registrations filled.

The portal closed.

But then something different happened.

A waiting list remained.

Thousands of people are now somewhere behind that digital line, hoping that a place may open up.

And that creates the first question:

What happens when a place is registered — but the person doesn't arrive?

---

Act II — The Person Who Is Waiting

Today, some registered guests will arrive.

Some may arrive late.

Some may not arrive at all.

That is simply how people behave.

But somewhere on that waiting list, another person may be ready.

Perhaps they are already in Vadodara.

Perhaps they are just a short distance away.

Perhaps they can reach the venue quickly.

Or perhaps they cannot.

So the interesting part isn't only how many people are waiting.

It is:

When does a waiting person get to know that a place may have opened?

Because an opportunity is useful only when there is still enough time to act on it.

---

Act III — When the Waiting List Meets the City

The waiting list is digital.

The opportunity is physical.

Someone could be waiting somewhere in Vadodara — at home, at work, on the road, perhaps already somewhere near the venue.

And somewhere inside the registered list, a place may become available.

Then comes the interesting moment.

Can the person waiting be told in time?

Because being on a waiting list is one thing.

Being given a genuine opportunity to attend is another.

A digital message may travel instantly.

The person cannot.

That small gap between the two is where the waiting list becomes fascinating.

Perhaps this is something future public-event registration systems could think about.

Not merely:

Who registered?

But also:

Who is waiting?

And when an opportunity opens:

Can that waiting person still use it?

The technology may be digital.
The last mile will always be human.

 

 

Whiteboard:

IF REGISTERED GUESTS DON'T ARRIVE, HOW WILL THE WAITING LIST GUESTS GET A CHANCE?

Nothing More.
Nothing Less.

---

Closing Thought

A registration tells us who has a place.

A waiting list tells us who still wants one.

Between the two is something neither system can completely control:

people.

People change plans.
People don't arrive.
People decide at the last moment.

Perhaps the next evolution of digital public-event registration is not just about filling capacity.

Perhaps it is about making every available opportunity count.

A waiting list is not just a list.
It is a possibility.

---

Citizen Suggestion

For future high-demand government programmes, could the digital registration journey consider a simple additional possibility:

If a registered guest is no longer coming, can they let the system know?

No prescription on how it should work.

No guarantee that the place must be reallocated.

Just one additional signal.

Because if someone is waiting, an unused place may still be an opportunity.

---

April 11 — Digital Transactions Day

Digital Transactions Day reminds us to look beyond the transaction itself.

A digital registration is also a transaction of sorts:

I want to participate.
I have registered.
I am waiting.

Perhaps the next question is:

Can the digital journey remain useful even when circumstances change?

From digital payments to digital public participation, the principle could remain the same:

Observe the transaction.
Understand the journey.

---

Disclaimer

This Citizen Observation is a personal reflection based on publicly available information about the PM Shri Narendra Modiji programme in Vadodara on 8 September 2026, including the official event listing and media reports concerning registration and the waiting list.

The observation does not prescribe a particular technology, cancellation process, waiting-list policy, admission rule, cut-off time or implementation mechanism.

It simply raises a citizen-facing question about whether, in future high-demand public events, unused capacity could potentially create an opportunity for people on a waiting list.

Citizen suggestion only. Implementation, if considered, rests with the relevant institutions and event organisers.

Kudos to the Organisers for charting a new path.

 

The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Citizen Observation 40 of 777 | UPI Agentic Payments | If a UPI AI Agent Pays, the Payment Record should Tell Me Which Agent Paid?

 Published on 4^th September 2026

 

UPI has made payments easy for humans.

What happens when an AI agent starts making them for us?

If an AI agent pays on our behalf, perhaps the next question is not only whether the payment succeeded, but which agent actually made the payment.

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru

https://in.linkedin.com/in/prashantnayakanti

---

The Trigger

As of now, this observation is based on news reports and publicly available information about the emerging UPI agentic-payments ecosystem.

The precise implementation is still evolving.

The payment could eventually involve:

UPI / UPI Lite / bank account / credit card / PPI / any other instrument in future.

The instrument may change.

But one citizen expectation could remain constant:

If an AI agent pays on my behalf, I should know which AI agent paid.

And if the complete information cannot reasonably fit into the account-statement narration, perhaps it could remain available through the issuing/payment provider's notification, digital banking app, internet banking or transaction history.

The question is simple:

The agent may act for me. Can the record still speak to me?

The Prospective Audience

For a consumer in Bengaluru.

For a shopper in Mumbai.

For a traveller in Delhi.

For a student in Pune.

For a professional in Hyderabad.

For anyone who may one day allow an AI agent to make a payment on their behalf.

The payment may become agentic.
The visibility should remain human.

The new possibility - When the Payment No Longer Needs Me

Act I — I Used to Press Pay

There was a time when making a digital payment meant me being there.

I chose the merchant.
I entered the amount.
I authenticated.
I pressed Pay.

UPI made that journey remarkably simple.

But agentic payments could change one small — yet significant — part of it.

What if I don't have to press Pay anymore?

What if an AI agent, acting within the authority I have given it, makes the payment for me?

 

Act II — Someone Else Is Acting for Me

Perhaps I have an AI agent for shopping.

Another for travel.

Another for subscriptions.

I may not be making every individual payment myself.

The agent is.

And that creates a very human question.

Not:

Did the payment happen?

Not even:

Where did my money go?

But:

Which AI agent acted on my behalf?

If the answer is an AI agent, shouldn't I be able to see which one?

 

Act III — Let the Record Remember

Because days later, I may not remember the payment.

I may only see the transaction.

Today, a payment record can usually tell me where my money went, how much was paid, and when it happened.

With agentic payments, there is one more piece of information that may matter:

Which AI agent made the payment on my behalf?

If that information can fit naturally into the transaction record, perhaps it could be shown there.

If it cannot reasonably fit into the bank or payment statement, the same information could remain accessible through the payment provider's notification, digital banking app, internet banking or transaction history.

For example, I should be able to look at a payment and understand:

AI Agent → Merchant → Amount → Date & Time → Transaction Reference

The exact format may evolve with the architecture.

The principle need not.

I may not have pressed Pay.

But I should still be able to look back and understand which AI agent acted for me.

The agent may act for me.
The subsequent bank account / credit card narration record should tell me which agent acted.

 

Disclaimer

This Citizen Observation is a personal reflection based on publicly available information and emerging developments around UPI agentic payments.

The precise architecture, payment instruments, protocols, safeguards and implementation may evolve.

This is not a technical, regulatory or implementation recommendation.

It is simply a citizen-facing observation on visibility and transparency in agent-initiated payments.

Citizen suggestion only. Implementation, if considered, rests with the relevant institutions and ecosystem participants.

Hopefully, the new UPI Agentic Payments mode  will motivate a large number of UPI users to try it out.

 

Closing Thought

The payment may become increasingly automated.

The decision may become increasingly assisted.

The agent may act within the authority we give it.

But when we look back at the payment, we should not have to wonder what happened.

If a machine acts on my behalf,
the record should still speak to me.

---

A Citizen Observation — Nothing More, Nothing Less

This is not a suggestion on how UPI agentic payments should be architected.

It is not a prescription for a particular payment instrument, protocol or implementation.

It is simply one citizen-facing question:

If an AI agent pays on my behalf, can the payment record tell me which agent paid?

Nothing More.
Nothing Less.

---

April 11 — Digital Transactions Day

Every April 11, Digital Transactions Day is an opportunity to pause and observe how digital transactions are evolving around us.

From human-initiated payments to payments that may increasingly be agent-initiated, the technology may keep changing.

Perhaps the citizen expectation can remain simple:

As payments become more autonomous,
visibility should remain human.

April 11 — Digital Transactions Day
Observe the transaction. Understand the journey.

The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com

 

Citizen Observation 39 of 777 | SJCC TEDx | AI Tools & Humans — Different Strengths. Can We Learn to Work Together?

 Published on 31^st August 2026

 At TEDxSJCC 3.0 in Bengaluru, I came away with a simple thought:

AI tools and humans working together can be a very good combination.

Just as humans have different strengths and weaknesses, AI tools appear to have them too.

Perhaps, over time, the human learns which AI tool can complement which strength or weakness.

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru

https://in.linkedin.com/in/prashantnayakanti

 

 

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The Trigger

On 29 August 2026, I had an opportunity to attend TEDxSJCC 3.0 — Artificial Minds, Natural Limits at St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru.

Due to a mix-up, I attended the afternoon session from around 1 PM onwards.

Well, I wish I could have attended the morning sessions too.

What struck me was the diversity of voices on the stage — from Kalahandi to Bengaluru, and from perspectives spanning technology, finance, healthcare, education, sustainability, public administration and AI.

The speaker lineup itself was wonderfully diverse:

• Avik Roy — building technology for more sustainable real estate.
• Divya Kumar — leadership, finance, technology and the AI agenda.
• Dr. Rimjhim Agrawal — AI, neuroscience and personalised brain care.
• Eshwar Sundaresan — writing, counselling and critical thinking.
• M. N. Anucheth — policing, public administration and real-world technology.
• Ranjitha Jayasimharao — sustainability, design, data and AI in the built environment.
• Rev. Dr. Bala Kiran Kumar Hrudayaraj, SJ — economics, capability and social thought.
• Rishi Mazumdar — education, responsible AI and digital agency.
• Sunayana Sitaraman — inclusive, context-aware AI, evaluation and AI safety.
• Ankita — a 10th-grade student from Kalahandi, Odisha, bringing a young perspective to the stage.

But what stayed with me was not one particular talk.

It was something much simpler.

Today, someone in Bengaluru, Kalahandi, Dharwad, Guwahati or Kochi can ask an AI tool for an opinion.

And sometimes, after receiving one answer, we ask another AI tool for a second opinion.

Almost like asking another trusted human.

The AI responds to our prompt with the knowledge, context and capabilities available to it.

We then compare, question, accept, reject or ask again.

Perhaps this is not AI replacing the human.

Perhaps it is the beginning of humans learning how to work with a team of very different AI tools.

The Prospective Audience

For a student in Kalahandi.

For a teacher in Bengaluru.

For a professional in Mumbai.

For a researcher in Hyderabad.

For an entrepreneur in Ahmedabad.

For a parent in Kochi.

For anyone, anywhere, beginning to work alongside AI.

Perhaps all of us are learning a new skill — knowing which AI to ask, when to ask another, and when the human should have the final word.

 

Act I — The Starting Point

AI tools and humans are increasingly working together.

But AI is not one uniform tool.

Different AI tools can respond differently to the same question — sometimes explaining, analysing, challenging, structuring or presenting an idea in different ways.

Just as humans have different strengths and weaknesses, AI tools appear to have them too.

Perhaps the emerging human skill is therefore not finding the best AI tool.

It is learning which AI tool is useful for which need.

And, also ensuring the least pressure is put on finite resources.

Act II — The Second Opinion

And here comes the interesting part.

A human asks one AI tool a question.

The answer comes.

Then the human thinks:

“Let me ask another AI.”

Why?

Perhaps for a different perspective.

Perhaps to challenge the first answer.

Perhaps simply because we are not yet sure.

Isn't that remarkably similar to what humans have always done?

We ask one person we trust.

Then, sometimes, we seek another trusted opinion.

The difference is that today, the second opinion can come from another AI tool — almost instantly.

And the human remains the one deciding what to ask, what to compare and what to believe.

 

Act III — The Complement

Perhaps this is where the human–AI relationship becomes interesting.

Not:

Human vs AI.

Not:

AI replacing human.

But:

Human + AI.

One AI tool may complement one weakness.

Another may strengthen another part of the journey.

And the human gradually learns the combination that works best.

Perhaps the real skill of the future will not be knowing everything about every AI tool.

It may simply be knowing:

Which tool to ask.
When to ask another.
And when the human should have the final word.

The journey may therefore be simple:

Ask → Compare → Question → Decide

The AI assists.
The human remains responsible.

Closing Thought

Perhaps the future of AI is not about finding one perfect tool.

It may be about learning how different tools can complement different human needs.

We may ask one AI.

We may ask another.

We may disagree with both.

And then, ultimately, a human still has to decide what to do.

Perhaps that is the real partnership we are only beginning to understand.

Different AI strengths.
Different human strengths.
One shared journey.

---

April 11 — Digital Transactions Day

Digital journeys are increasingly becoming journeys of choice.

We choose the app.

We choose the channel.

We choose how we transact.

And perhaps, with AI, we are beginning to choose which digital intelligence to work with.

Ask → Compare → Decide

Perhaps better digital journeys are not about removing the human from the loop.

They make the human more capable within the loop.

The Joy of Digital Transactions

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Disclaimer

This Citizen Observation is based on my personal experience of attending TEDxSJCC 3.0 — Artificial Minds, Natural Limits at St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, on 29 August 2026, and the reflections that followed.

The observations about AI tools are personal reflections and are not intended to represent the views of TEDxSJCC, St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, or any speaker at the event.

The descriptions of speakers and their areas of work are provided only to give context to the event and are not intended as a summary or evaluation of their individual talks.

ChatGPT was the primary assistant in this blog post, of course the final output is owned by me only.

Copyrights, if any belong to the brand owners only.

Nothing More — Nothing Less.

 

The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com