Her Majesty Queen Máxima will be visiting the Republic of India from Tuesday 23 June to Thursday 25 June. She is doing so at the invitation of the country’s government in her capacity as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA). She will speak with people who use financial services, as well as with representatives of government, development organisations and businesses about policy and services that contribute to the financial wellbeing of India's people. Queen Máxima hopes to conclude her visit with a meeting with His Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India has achieved a lot in regard to good access to safe and affordable financial services (financial inclusion). Currently, 89% of Indians have a current account and improved access to loans, savings products, insurance and pension schemes (Global Findex 2024). The digital government programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana for financial inclusion, the Aadhaar (unique identity number) and the Unified Payments Interface (an instant payments system) have contributed to this development. The focus of Queen Máxima’s trip is on the quality of financial services, so that people can better manage their daily incomings and outgoings, build a financial buffer, invest responsibly in a better life and face the future with confidence – the definition of financial health.
Tuesday 23 June, Mumbai
In Mumbai Queen Máxima will undertake two field visits. In a hospital she will meet nurses who use the digital platform SalarySe to manage their daily finances and build their savings, and access other services for financial health. Similar services are available through the Jupiter Money app. Queen Máxima will talk to young people who use the app for budgeting, achieving their savings goals and investing for their future. She will also attend a focus group meeting for women and inhabitants of rural areas to talk about their challenges and their aspirations for better financial health. The Jan-Dhan programme helps them achieve this. At the International Finance Corporation Queen Máxima will participate in a discussion on using AI to provide tailored financial advice. The session will be organised by Flourish Venture, a venture capital fund aimed at a more inclusive financial system. Finally, there will be a session about preventing digital fraud and protecting consumers against the risks associated with a digital financial ecosystem.
Wednesday 24 June, Mumbai
One of Queen Máxima’s priorities in her role as UNSGSA is the development of a measure of financial health for the purpose of providing tailored advice. The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth will host a dialogue on this topic with leaders from the finance sector. A second roundtable discussion, organised by CGAP, will focus on Indian women’s financial wellbeing, which still lags behind men’s in certain respects. The final programme event in Mumbai will be a meeting with Sanjay Malhotra, governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Thursday 25 June, New Delhi
In New Delhi, Queen Máxima will attend a Financial Health Demo Day at the Gates Foundation, where four Indian companies will present innovations intended to enhance financial health. In a fireside chat she will talk about how important initiatives like these are, not only for the households they aim to serve but for society as a whole.
At the local UN office, Queen Máxima will then participate in a discussion on secure, responsible and consent-based data sharing, so that financial service providers can offer suitable products to specific target groups. MahaVISTAAR, for instance, is an AI-driven app that provides farmers with up-to-date local information in their own language on commodity prices, weather warnings, threats to crops and more.
The last talk at the UN office will be about pension provisions for workers in the informal economy, such as domestic staff and golf caddies, who often do not have sufficient retirement funds. Queen Máxima will talk with some of these workers and representatives of pension organisations and India’s National Pension System about a special pension programme that will offer informal workers financial security in the long term.
Queen Máxima hopes to conclude her trip to India with a meeting with Prime Minister Modi, to discuss her findings. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima received Prime Minister Modi at Huis ten Bosch Palace in mid-May.
Queen Máxima has visited India previously in her capacity as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Government Information Service, no. 181