New Delhi, September 16: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of the revised UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), saying Rahul Gandhi “sees the 'bhoot' of America everywhere” and focuses on criticising the country rather than nation-building.
Scindia said the revised MDR would not burden customers and would apply only to select merchants. He said transactions up to Rs 2,000 would remain free, while a 0.4 per cent MDR would apply to certain higher-value merchant transactions, with a cap of Rs 300.
The minister also said merchants with monthly UPI transactions below Rs 1 lakh would have no liability, while person-to-person transfers would remain completely free.
His remarks came after Rahul Gandhi alleged that the proposed UPI charges were being introduced under American pressure and urged the government to withdraw them.
The government has clarified that MDR is neither a tax nor a government charge and that the revised framework is aimed at supporting the continued operation and expansion of the UPI ecosystem.
