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Black Swan Summit India to be held in Bhubaneswar under BharatNetra, in partnership with GFTN, catalysing skills, jobs and investment
Bhubaneswar, Odisha | 4 February 2026 – Odisha’s commitment to shaping India’s digital and economic future was underscored today with the announcement of the inaugural Black Swan Summit India, to be held in Bhubaneswar on 5 - 6 February 2026. Organised by the Government of Odisha under the BharatNetra initiative in partnership with the Singapore-headquartered Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), the Summit positions Odisha as a nation-building platform for India’s next phase of digital-led growth.
Graced by the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, and led by Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi, the Summit reflects Odisha’s transition from policy articulation to execution in AI, FinTech, and InsurTech. It reinforces the role of states as engines of national transformation, aligned with India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. With participation from over 1,700 delegates across 24 countries and nearly 100 speakers from 5 continents (North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa). Black Swan Summit India will convene global and national policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, technology leaders, startups, investors, and academics for an execution-oriented dialogue.
Odisha’s Long-Term Digital and Economic Vision
BharatNetra reflects Odisha’s strategy for sustained, technology-led growth that translates innovation into income expansion, inclusive development, and durable employment. Rather than focusing on technology adoption alone, Odisha is reframing digital policy around measurable outcomes - jobs, skills, enterprise creation, and global competitiveness.
“Odisha is not preparing to merely participate in the global digital economy; we intend to help shape it, as a frontline contributor to Viksit Bharat,” said Shri Vishal Kumar Dev, Additional Chief Secretary, Electronics & Information Technology, Government of Odisha. “Our focus is on operationalising AI and digital finance in ways that deliver real economic value and long-term institutional capacity.”
State Leadership with National Impact
India’s digital public infrastructure has created a strong national foundation. Odisha’s approach is to convert this national advantage into local execution with global relevance, demonstrating how states can lead digital-led growth, employment creation, and global integration. This includes deploying AI, FinTech, and InsurTech as workforce multipliers, particularly beyond Tier-I cities, and positioning Odisha as a credible destination for global capability centres, digital finance infrastructure, and long-horizon investment.
A Trusted Platform for Capital and Collaboration
BharatNetra was forged during the January 2025 visit of the Hon’ble President of Singapore, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, to Odisha. While several MoUs were signed during that visit, the partnership with GFTN has moved decisively into execution, in close collaboration with the state, and is already delivering tangible outcomes.
For Odisha, GFTN’s global ecosystem spanning innovators, entrepreneurs, capital providers, and policymakers acts as an institutional bridge into trusted global digital finance networks. The partnership aligns skilling with real industry demand, accelerates ecosystem maturity in FinTech, InsurTech, and AI, and ensures that policy ambition translates into skills, jobs, enterprises, and long-term capital.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Group CEO, GFTN, said: “Odisha’s partnership with GFTN through BharatNetra offers a blueprint for how state governments can strengthen national competitiveness by connecting to the global digital economy. Through GFTN’s network across more than 130 countries, Odisha gains direct access to innovators, investors, and policymakers enabling the state to scale digital finance with a strong focus on investment attraction, workforce readiness, and the establishment of global capability centres. The outcomes are already visible: students gaining world-class fintech skills, startups beginning to access mentorship and capital, and Bhubaneswar emerging as an eastern gateway for Asia-Pacific financial innovation.”
FinTech, InsurTech and Workforce Readiness
A major focus of the Summit is the role of FinTech and InsurTech in promoting financial inclusion, stability, and resilience. Odisha is aligning education, skilling, and certification frameworks with real industry needs, recognising that nearly 69% of its population is of working age.
Executing on this vision, the first cohort of the BharatNetra, a five-month FinTech & InsurTech hybrid programme, launched by the Government of Odisha in collaboration with the National University of Singapore-Asian Institute of Digital Finance and GFTN graduated today.
Global and national industry partners are actively interviewing graduates, with additional hiring opportunities through a job fair held alongside the Black Swan Summit. Top performers will receive global exposure, including representation in Japan under the MUFG Young Innovators initiative and at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2026. 7 students have already been selected under the MUFG Young Innovators program and 6 under the Singapore Pathfinders program.
The ceremony was graced by Dr. Mukesh Mahaling, Hon’ble Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Parliamentary Affairs, and Electronics & Information Technology and Shri Suryabanshi Suraj, Minister for Higher Education, Sports and Youth Services. Launched on 31 July 2025, the programme began its first cohort in September with 385 participants, of whom 195 students have successfully completed the course.
BSS Signs MoUs with Leading FinTech and InsurTech Firms to Build Odisha’s Talent-to-Jobs Pipeline
The BSS is also launching MoUs with corporate partners including Bajaj General Insurance, Advanze Tech, Annapurna Tech Universe, ESTPL, ProgCap, Propelld, ShovelTech Solutions, Spice Money, Surfin, Symbo Insurtech, Universal Pensions, and Vayana. Together, these Odisha-based firms, Indian scale-ups, and globally connected fintech and insurtech players create a direct pipeline from education to employment, policy to pilots, and innovation to implementation—reinforcing Odisha’s position as a FinTech and InsurTech talent and execution hub, backed by regulatory clarity and digital governance readiness.
Looking Ahead
The Black Swan Summit India marks a decisive step in Odisha’s ambition to establish Bhubaneswar as a nationally and globally connected centre for AI-enabled FinTech, InsurTech, and global capability services.
“Odisha is stepping forward to demonstrate how inclusive, tech-led governance, future-ready talent, global collaboration and trusted digital infrastructure can deliver prosperity at scale for India,” said Mr Dev.
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The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) is a not-for-profit organisation established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). With offices across Singapore, SEA, Japan, MEA, and Europe, GFTN’s mission is to bridge policy, capital, and technology to build resilient, efficient, and inclusive financial systems. GFTN operates via its commercial subsidiaries, GFTN Services and GFTN Capital. GFTN Services, through GFTN Connect, hosts global forums across five continents to bring together industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers from over 150 countries. GFTN Solutions provides advisory services, technology solutions, and capacity-building support to governments and the private sector. GFTN Capital will be a venture capital firm investing in growth-stage FinTechs globally. For more information, please visit www.gftn.co
About Black Swan Summit
The Black Swan Summit Series is a global platform that brings together policymakers, technologists, investors, industry leaders, and academics to examine how innovation and disruptive technologies can build more resilient economies and inclusive societies. Originating in Perth, Western Australia, the Black Swan Summit reframes disruption as transformation. Inspired by the idea that rare and unpredictable events can reshape societies, the Summit focuses on turning uncertainty into strategic opportunity by examining how humanity, technology, machines, and money can evolve together to create long-term impact.
Media Contacts:
Preeti Dawra: Chief Communications Officer, GFTN: Preeti.dawra@gftn.com
Abhilasha Rajpoot – abhilasha@thegutenberg.com / 8982796668
Afina Khan – afina@thegutenberg.com / 6282484034