Queen Máxima will promote financial health during her visit to India

India has made a lot of progress in providing access to safe and affordable financial services (financial inclusion). Currently, 89% of Indians have a current account and better access to loans, savings products, insurance and pension plans (Global Findex 2024). The government’s digital Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana for financial inclusion, Aadhaar (unique identity number) and Unified Payments Interface (an instant payments system) have contributed to this development. Queen Máxima’s journey focuses on the quality of financial services, so that people can better manage their daily inputs and outputs, build a financial reserve, invest responsibly in a better life and face the future with confidence – the definition of financial health.

Tuesday June 23, Mumbai

In Mumbai, Queen Máxima will undertake two field visits. At a hospital, she will meet nurses who use the SalarySe digital platform to manage their daily finances, build their savings and access other financial health services. Similar services are available through the Jupiter Money app. Queen Máxima will speak with young people who are using the app to budget, reach their savings goals and invest for their future. She will also participate in a focus group meeting for women and rural residents to talk about their challenges and aspirations for better financial health. The Jan-Dhan program 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 organized by Flourish Venture, a venture capital fund aiming for a more inclusive financial system. Finally, there will be a session on preventing digital fraud and protecting consumers from the risks associated with a digital financial ecosystem.

Wednesday June 24, Mumbai

One of Queen Máxima’s priorities in her role as UNSGSA is the development of a measure of financial health with the aim of providing personalized advice. The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth will host a dialogue on this topic with financial industry leaders. A second roundtable, organized by CGAP, will focus on the financial well-being of Indian women, which still lags behind that of men in some respects. The final event of the program in Mumbai will be a meeting with Sanjay Malhotra, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

Thursday June 25, New Delhi

In New Delhi, Queen Máxima will participate in a financial health demonstration day at the Gates Foundation, during which four Indian companies will present innovations aimed at improving financial health. In a fireside chat, she will explain how important such initiatives are, not only for the households they target, but also 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 products tailored to specific target groups. MahaVISTAAR, for example, is an AI-powered app that provides farmers with up-to-date local information in their own language on commodity prices, weather warnings, crop threats and much more.

The final discussion at the UN office will focus on retirement arrangements for workers in the informal economy, such as domestic workers and golf caddies, who often do not have sufficient retirement funds. Queen Máxima will speak with some of these workers and representatives of pension organizations and India’s National Pension System about a special pension program that will provide informal workers with long-term financial security.

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 previously visited India in her capacity as Special Advocate to the UN Secretary-General for Inclusive Finance for Development in 2014, 2018 and 2022.

Government Information Service, no. 181