A high-level meeting was convened by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to scale up the Unified Lending Interface (ULI). The ULI is envisioned as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to integrate technology, data, and policy for inclusive credit access. The initiative aims to make frictionless credit available to all Indians, leveraging data from government ministries and departments to facilitate data-driven lending, especially for underserved borrowers. Key outcomes of the meeting included a commitment to digitally integrate high-value datasets with ULI, the nomination of nodal officers to coordinate data integration, state government efforts to digitize land records, and alignment of other lending initiatives with ULI. The goal is to build a unified and resilient national lending ecosystem.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Finance: The Indian government ministry responsible for financial matters.
Department of Financial Services (DFS): A department within the Ministry of Finance.
Unified Lending Interface (ULI): A Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) designed to integrate technology, data, and policy into one platform in the lending space.
Shri M Nagaraju: Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS).
New Delhi: The location of the high-level meeting; capital of India.
Shri T. Rabi Sankar: Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Reserve Bank of India (RBI): The central bank of India.
Reserve Bank Innovation Hub: An initiative from the Reserve Bank of India.
UPI: Unified Payments Interface, a real-time payment system in India.
Central Government Ministries: Ministries of the Central Government of India
State Governments: Governments of the various states within India.
Ministry of Finance
Deptartment of Financial Services (DFS) Convenes a
High-Level Meeting to Scale Up Unified Lending
Interface (ULI) for Inclusive Credit Access
ULI as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) designed
to integrate technology, data, and policy into one
seamless platform in the lending space: Secretary,
DFS, Shri M Nagaraju
Posted On: 23 JUN 2025 8:30PM by PIB Delhi
The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, convened a high-level meeting co-chaired
by Shri M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services and Shri T. Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor,
RBI at New Delhi, on scaling up Unified Lending Interface (ULI). The ULI is a technology-based initiative
to make frictionless credit available to every Indian and to further the Government’s broader vision of digital
empowerment, financial inclusion, and last-mile service delivery. The participants included senior officials
from various ministries/ departments of the Government of India, state governments, the Reserve Bank of
India and the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub.
Secretary, DFS in his address, stated that ULI is envisioned as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in the
lending space, designed to integrate technology, data, and policy into one seamless platform. He further stated
that as UPI revolutionized the payment ecosystem, the ULI is poised to transform credit delivery—making it
inclusive and redefine how credit is accessed and delivered across India. He emphasised that the rich, trusted
and high-value datasets available with Central Government Ministries/Departments and State governments,
which when leveraged appropriately by lenders, can power data-driven, inclusive, and faster lending,
especially for underserved borrowers. He also emphasised that appropriate integration of various separate
similar initiatives operating to serve specific purposes with ULI for deriving synergy to build a unified and
resilient national lending ecosystem, while preserving their identity.Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Governor, RBI, Shri T. Rabi Shankar stated that as part of its mandate to
manage the credit system of the country, it wanted to bring innovation to the lending space. While thanking
DFS for convening this high-level meeting, he urged various ministries and state governments and to treat the
meeting as a collaborative starting point and a two-way engagement, where all stakeholders proactively
recognise the value of ULI as a transformative DPI and contribute to its effectiveness by integrating as many
relevant datasets as possible to unlock its full potential. He also stated that ULI can surpass the transformative
impact of UPI.
The deliberations concluded with a shared resolve to:
Digitally integrate high-value datasets available with the Central Govt. Ministries and State
(cid:108)
Governments with ULI
Stakeholders nominate Nodal officers to coordinate efforts for fast-tracking the integration of
(cid:108)
government data sets with the ULI.
State governments to give dedicated efforts to digitise and connect land and other records
(cid:108)
Align other lending initiatives to build a unified credit delivery ecosystem with ULI as the anchor.
(cid:108)
****
NB/AD
(Release ID: 2139039)