Govt vs Opposition on UPI payments levy. Move essential or avoidable? Panel debates

Severe floods have shut down schools and submerged homes across parts of Bihar, including Raghunathpur village in Katihar district. To prevent learning loss and keep children engaged with their studies, private tutor Mohammed Saheb has converted a boat into a makeshift floating classroom. Classes are conducted for an hour to an hour and a half in areas where the water is shallow. Students attend the lessons with parental consent, stating that they feel safe and enjoy continuing their education despite the surrounding floodwaters.

An Indian Army paratrooper from the Surya Command has executed a tandem parachute jump alongside a dog handler and a combat canine carrying a full combat load. According to the Indian Army, this operational feat highlights trust, teamwork, and combat readiness. The exercise demonstrates that military canines are trained for specialized operations spanning from ground missions to airborne deployments.

Saudi Arabia intercepted a drone heading towards restricted airspace over Mecca, marking a major escalation in tensions with Yemen's Houthis. While the Houthi rebels denied targeting holy sites and asserted that their operations focus strictly on Saudi oil facilities and military bases, the Saudi-led coalition warned that the security of Mecca remains a red line. The escalation follows Houthi advances along Yemen's western coast, including control of Perim Island, the Hanish Islands, and the port city of Mocha in the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, along with recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline.

In this edition of The News Today, anchor Rajdeep Sardesai leads a crucial discussion examining the government's UPI merchant discount rate levy. Joining the panel are Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, and Professor Santosh Mehrotra, Visiting Professor at the University of Bath. Professor Mehrotra argues against continuous taxpayer subsidies for digital payments, advocating instead that transaction costs should be fairly apportioned between banks, multinational platforms, and merchants. Meanwhile, Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian warns that imposing an ad valorem transaction tax fails to align with UPI mechanics and risks driving small merchants back to cash transactions. He underlines that UPI should primarily serve as an engine for credit creation to generate income for banking infrastructure and technology investments rather than imposing friction on digital commerce. The panellists also assess whether merchants will ultimately pass these costs onto consumers and analyse the broader economic ramifications of altering the fee structure for digital payments.