Curated news coverage, institutional background, regulatory filings, and investigative reporting across RDU Global.
The National Payments Corporation of India has moved to reassure merchants that GST applied to UPI merchant discount rate, or MDR, will not materially burden small businesses. It said transactions below Rs 2,000 attract zero MDR and therefore no GST, while merchants can offset any GST paid on MDR against their tax liability.
IIT Madras, its Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures have announced a first close of Rs 450 crore for a Rs 1,000 crore fund aimed at advanced technology startups, with the final close expected by December 2026. The fund has already deployed nearly Rs 55 crore across four deep-tech startups as it sharpens its focus on sectors seen as strategically important to India's industrial and national security ambitions.
Government sources on Thursday said the proposed 0.4% merchant discount rate on certain UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 will be borne by merchants, not consumers, and will not flow into government coffers. The move, effective October 15, is aimed at building a sustainable revenue model for the digital payments ecosystem while keeping person-to-person UPI transfers free and shielding most small merchants from the charge.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has pushed back against criticism of the proposed Merchant Discount Rate on select high-value UPI transactions, saying it is neither a tax, cess nor surcharge and will not flow to the government. She said the charge is part of the digital payments ecosystem, will be borne by merchants, and is intended to support infrastructure and innovation in UPI.
Corporations, startups, regulatory bodies, central banks, ministries and judicial courts. All news mentioning this entity is automatically verified and aggregated into this live intelligence dossier.
Entities frequently referenced alongside National Payments Corporation of India: