India needs forum for tech firms to engage foreign regulators, finance minister says

MUMBAI: India should develop a forum that brings its technology companies together to engage with foreign governments and regulators in a coordinated manner, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.

Such a platform “could engage foreign governments and regulators before regulatory positions harden and barriers are erected,” said Sitharaman, speaking at the annual Global Fintech Forum in Mumbai.

Indian companies are increasingly looking to expand abroad at a time when governments worldwide are drawing up rules for frontier technologies such as agentic artificial intelligence and asset tokenisation.

Companies expanding beyond India can no longer treat foreign rules as a side issue, she said, arguing that Indian industry needs more coordinated support as it expands into other countries.

“A young startup cannot reasonably be expected to understand, engage with, and negotiate every such system on its own,” Sitharaman said.

The proposed forum can also help Indian firms license and earn from their technology abroad, form partnerships, and enter new markets more confidently, she said.

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It could also identify areas where standards can be made interoperable, as well as share best practices on data and cybersecurity.

Some countries have rules that support innovation, Sitharaman said, while others – intentionally or not – end up blocking new entrants, she added.