This project, undertaken jointly by Dvara Research, PwC India and Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment, aims to assist digital lenders in India to deploy AI responsibly by translating high-level academic principles of Responsible and Trustworthy AI (RTAI) into a practical, industry-ready self-assessment checklist. In response to the industry’s uncertainty around responsible AI adoption, we sought to equip stakeholders in the digital lending ecosystem with a suite of best practices that can guide the responsible integration of AI into their operations as well as an easy-to-use checklist to assess their alignment with widely accepted Responsible AI standards.
We developed an RTAI framework that articulates six core principles and defines their practical contours, accompanied by a checklist grounded in actionable and globally recognised best practices that cover the entire AI lifecycle. These practices are presented as questions in a web-based checklist format, aimed at the technology teams of digital lenders. In answering these questions, FSPs reflect on the presence and maturity of relevant AI safeguards. Based on their answers, the checklist tool scores their existing practices, highlights areas that require urgent attention and benchmarks them against industry standards.
The work has gained further relevance as the RBI’s FREE AI Committee has impressed upon Fintech Self-Regulatory Organisations the need to create toolkits that facilitate the adoption of responsible and trustworthy AI among fintechs and develop industry standards that individual FSPs can use to validate the maturity of their AI-related safeguards.
