India is set to launch a platform designed to boost access to credit for small and rural businesses, thereby addressing significant gaps in financing for agribusinesses and small enterprises. Unified Lending Interface (ULI)As announced by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will streamline the credit assessment process and enable a seamless, consent-based flow of digital information to support these borrowers. The platform is expected to go live “in due course.”
Governor Das highlighted that the ULI aims to improve digital access to information from multiple sources, ensuring faster and more efficient lending. The initiative builds on the success of last year’s pilot program, which was part of the central bank’s broader agenda to Digitizing financial services in India.
India’s rapid adoption of digital banking and payment systems, including mobile banking, digital wallets and the widely used Unified Payments Interface (UPI), has already established the country as a global leader in digital payments. Governor Das compared the potential impact of ULI on the credit sector to UPI’s transformation of the payments ecosystem, and expressed confidence that it would revolutionise access to credit for underserved sectors.
The ULI platform is expected to be a game-changer in bridging financial inclusion gaps in rural and small business communities in India.