New Delhi, September 16 (Daily Kiran) : In New Delhi, on September 16, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the central government’s decision to impose fees on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions exceeding ₹2,000. In contrast, five Congress MPs, including P. Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Gaurav Gogoi, Kishori Lal, and K. Gopinath, expressed their support for a structured Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for UPI in Parliament.
Earlier this year, the Financial Standing Committee emphasized the need for a tiered MDR structure for UPI, urging its immediate notification and implementation. The five Congress MPs, who were part of the committee, attended the parliamentary session on August 12 when the report was passed, and no dissent was recorded in the published proceedings.
The committee highlighted the importance of establishing a viable revenue mechanism to ensure the financial stability of the UPI ecosystem, preventing a continuous burden on the government’s finances. While recommending a three-year multi-year plan and cashback component to democratize digital payments in tier 3-6 cities, the committee also urged the Department of Financial Services to consider a self-sustaining, tiered revenue model.
The committee noted that legislative provisions for a tiered MDR structure followed its previous recommendations emphasizing the necessity of a viable revenue model. They expressed concern that delays in notifying and implementing this framework could lead payment service providers to excessively rely on inadequate subsidies, jeopardizing crucial investments in cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and network infrastructure.
On Wednesday, leaders from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s concerns regarding UPI fees, rejecting his claims that the decision was made under pressure from the United States. Central Minister Ramdas Athawale defended the government’s stance, asserting that the decision concerning UPI transactions up to ₹2,000 is fair and would not create difficulties for small vendors and businesses.
Athawale also refuted Gandhi’s allegations about U.S. influence, describing them as baseless. He stated that Gandhi is skilled at spreading falsehoods and often makes misleading claims on various issues, reiterating that there is no connection between this decision and the United States.
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