Dear Phraands! 🐒
This is the Office of the US Trade Representative 2026 report, page 272.
It criticised the NPCI, the org that operates India's retail payment systems, saying that it is creating "a non-level playing field" in electronic payment services.
What followed? ☺️
The UPI payments in India have been free for the public.
Then on Monday the Govt introduced Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
This was followed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that “someone will have to pay the cost” of UPI transactions. ☺️
Today this bill was passed. It now brings UPI and RuPay debit card transactions under MDR charges.
Point to be noted, Since 2020, the Govt, mandated that transactions on UPI and RuPay debit cards would not attract any MDR charges.
Then why this sudden shift? 🤔
Now apart from Marchants, our ordinary people transactions that exceed ₹2,000 in value, maybe charged 0.25-0.4% of the transaction value.
Masterstroke Phraaands! 🤭
This is minor cronyism in this govt, done without blinking. The big ones are the ports, airports, mines to Adani & contracts to Adani & firms of BJP leaders & those who donate to BJP via electoral bonds etc.
The level of corruption now is many times of peak UPA govt
There’s something nauseating about how jolly this creep is.
This is why I believe that until the fear of reprisal is targeted at the ECI with dharnas at every one of their offices, Shah still comes out a winner.
Vote Chori is real. The odd crumbs of victory they throw the Opposition’s way are purely to create the myth of free and fair elections.
This is the nub of the problem in India. Parliament is no longer the forum where MPs debate issues and Bills. The Govt and its stooge the Speaker shut down any speech that is critical of the Govt's record. They see Parlmnt as rubber stamp.
The more it appears on my TL, the more it gets reposted! And yes, you get to see pure souls demanding justice & quality in a quirky way ! Way to go gals !
@worshipVK Great question
Even I have one doubt how come a a person who was begging for 40 years went to USA and other foreign countries at the age of 43 is astonishing
POCSO case against protest leaders because a 12 year old minor attended their protest.
No POCSO case against those who leaked private details of a 15 year old minor, which lead to severe mental and sexual harassment, rape and death threats.
This is how state machinery works.
Jantar Mantar protests did a world of good to India and Indians. It empowered students across states. It focussed on education as a need, a demand and a right that should be fought for. Indian students are done waiting. A wave of protests have hit UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, MP, Maharashtra & Jharkhand etc.
In Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, about 1,500 students, Classes 6-12, staged a 6-hour sit-in at Sarvodaya Inter College. No fans, no library, no computer lab, unsafe drinking water, broken desks. Officials came calling within a day.
In Gays, Bihar, A government school with a broken hand pump, dead fans, shattered benches. Students protested and refused to speak to a junior official. They demanded the District Magistrate himself show up. He did.
In Jalore, Rajasthan, students locked the gates themselves, demanding teachers for grades 1-3 that simply weren’t there.
In Barmer’s Ramsar school, same story. Kids literally not being taught subjects due to staff shortages.
Across MP, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Similar walkouts reported. Same core demands echoing across states: functional fans, clean water, hygienic toilets, teachers actually in the classroom.
What Jantar Mantar protests achieved is exceptional. India is discussing education, faculty shortages, unfairness, paper leaks, lack of school infrastructure. None of these demands are unreasonable and the minimum a public school owes a child. The fact it took a viral sit in to get it fixed is the real story.
I only wish this continues. We should continue to bring student issues to the forefront. Empower them with coverage, conversations. This can’t be allowed to fade as a one week news cycle. Keep asking. Keep covering. About vacant teacher posts in your district? What happened to the school infrastructure budget? Tag your local officials.
Don’t let this fade.
Please don’t let it fade.
#WATCH | Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra | Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Founder Abhijeet Dipke says, "Institutional accountability is in a dangerous situation in our country today. This is a dangerous sign for our democracy. Earlier, voters used to choose a government. Today, the government is deciding who will vote. Democracy cannot work like this. We have to fix the accountability of the Election Commission. Until we do this, election manipulation will continue in the country."