IDRBT, which works in the frontier areas of technology, today launched a 5G Use Cases Lab for the Banking and Financial Sector and released a White Paper on 5G Applications for Banking and Financial Sector in India.

While the 5G Use Cases Lab was launched by Shri Amit Yadav, Joint Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India; Ms. Anjana Dube, Deputy Director General, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India, released the White Paper on 5G Applications for Banking and Financial Sector in India, at a function at the IDRBT today.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. A. S. Ramasatri, Director, IDRBT, stressed on the importance of 5G and pointed out that the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 may see a splash of 5G. “So the time is right to start working on 5G so that India is a thought leader in this new technology, rather than being a follower as in the case of some earlier technologies. We will reap benefits and be able to leverage its advantages if we move fast. Multiple sectors and service providers need to work together to fully exploit the technology,” he shared adding that the Institute will initially be focusing on proof-of-concepts, parallel runs and deployable solutions for banks.

Launch of 5G Use Cases Lab for Banking and Financial Sector in India

Mobile technology has been marching ahead very rapidly since the early 1980s when the 1G technology provided analog based voice for the human to human interaction. Then onwards, a new generation technology came into existence almost every ten years, providing better features and functionalities. While in 2010s, the 4G ushered in the merger of internet and telecom networks with core network as an all IP network, cyber world had started moving in directions of virtualization, cyber-physical systems, service-oriented architecture and so forth during the period.

To meet the emerging requirements, there has been considerable work around the development of the next generation network – 5G. The 5G network is likely to encompass not just the Internet but all the resources connected to Internet. In such a scenario, it is essential there is a greater preparedness from both the service providers and consumers regarding the principles, architecture and features of the new technology. Such preparedness will help all concerned to design, develop and deploy appropriate applications that can be used efficiently and effectively. It is often felt that a similar preparedness by various sectors could have helped a greater success of 4G.

With a view to enable this preparedness, the Institute launched the 5G Use Cases Lab for the Banking and Financial Sector in India. The broad objectives of the Lab are as under:

• Develop and Demonstrate 5G Use Cases for Banking and Financial Services
• Set-up 5G Research and Development Experience Platform for Banking and Financial Services
• Collaborate with Stakeholders – Banks, Government, Service Providers, MNO, Financial Institutions, OEM, Academicians, R&D Bodies, Standards setting bodies and Others for 5G promotion and absorption of best practices
• Create 5G Champions in Banking and Financial Services sector
• Provide State of art Experimental Test Bed Solutions for Mobile, Wireless Technologies, IoT and Security Services for BFSI
• Conduct Awareness and Capacity Building Programmes in the Frontiers of 5G and Beyond.

Shri Amit Yadav, Joint Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt of India; launched the lab in the presence of Shri. R.K. Pathak, Deputy Director General, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India; Smt. Anjana Dube, Deputy Director General, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India; Ms. Pamela Kumar, Director General, Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India and Dr. A. S. Ramasastri, Director, IDRBT.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Yadav pointed out that “5G has already arrived with it being rolled out in the US and South Korea. Since India is now the biggest user of mobile data in the world and the rates of devices and services have been dropping aggressively, 5G holds immense potential for the country. Considering that the Banking and Financial Sector is a key driver of IT in India and affordabilty leads to inclusion, the Sector needs to leverage 5G for furthering financial inclusion.”

Shri. R.K. Pathak, Deputy Director General, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India, said that the 5G Use case lab would contribute to new standards in the country and expressed happiness that IDRBT has made tremendous progress in a short span of 11 months, after the idea of a 5G Use Cases lab was first mooted. The Institute has successfully brought together multiple bodies like Department of Telecommunications, Department of Financial Services and Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India to work on the 5G initiative.

Release of White Paper on 5G Applications for Banking and Financial Sector in India

This White Paper is a step towards enabling preparedness of the banking and financial sector, which has very high reliance on communication technology for all its activities, on 5G. The paper, in addition to presenting the technology, principles, architecture and features of 5G, compiles a few use cases for the use of 5G by BFSI. It also addresses the security concerns, generally associated with financial transactions on such networks while presenting the enhancements and advancements over existing wireless technologies that BFSI sector can use for remodelling their current business practices.

We believe that the white paper, with its use cases for BFSI, will serve as a good resource for all concerned with 5G, especially while designing sector-specific requirements. Particularly, it can be a reference for Chief Digital Officers, CIO/IT Heads, Chief Information Security Officers and other stakeholders as a preparation to the new 5G revolution. It can also be used by the BFSI sector and FinTechs to prototype or enhance the discussed use cases.

Smt. Anjana Dube, Deputy Director General, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India released the White Paper in the presence of Shri Amit Yadav, Joint Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt of India Shri. R.K.Pathak, Deputy Director General, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India; Ms. Pamela Kumar, Director General, Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India and Dr. A. S. Ramasastri, Director, IDRBT.

Download the “White Paper on 5G Applications for Banking and Financial Sector in India” here.

Speaking after releasing the booklet, Smt. Dube emphasised the role 5G can play in furthering financial inclusion. Stressing that 5G will change the way services are provided, she said it will enable integration and leveraging of various new technologies like Cognitive Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, etc. But it is crucial for 5G to have full-stack convergence, and it is here where the Use Case lab at IDRBT can fast forward and make things happen.”

Ms. Pamela Kumar, Director General, Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India, pointed out that “it was banks who lead the IT adoption initiative in the country and they should again take the lead in 5G. A confluence of technology and banking is the way forward, especially since 5G will also provide us an opportunity to influence global standards.”