What Really Matters

The government's central defence of the new charge on UPI merchant payments is sustainability. From 15 October 2026, eligible person-to-merchant payments above ₹2,000 will attract a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4 per cent. The money will be shared among banks, payment applications and other service providers. The government says this will fund infrastructure, cybersecurity, innovation and customer service while keeping UPI free for consumers. These are valid expenses. But establishing that UPI costs money to operate is not the same as proving that the chosen charge is necessary, proportionate or fairly distributed. The Indian Express, citing government and industry sources, reported estimates that running UPI costs approximately ₹20,000 crore a year and that MDR could generate about ₹15,000 crore annually. But these are reported estimates, not figures accompanied by a published UPI-specific cost statement or methodology. A claim of sustainability is not an account UPI processe...

For years, Indians were encouraged to see UPI as national digital infrastructure: convenient, inclusive, home-grown and free. Citizens changed how they paid, and merchants built QR codes into everyday business. Now that UPI has become indispensable, the terms are changing. From 15 October 2026, eligible person-to-merchant payments above ₹2,000 will attract a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4 per cent, capped at ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 and above. Person-to-person transfers, merchant payments up to ₹2,000 and qualifying small merchants will remain exempt. The government says customers will not be charged because merchants must pay the MDR. That is technically correct, but it does not settle who will ultimately bear the cost. The public has already funded UPI UPI's growth was supported by public policy, taxpayer-funded incentives and the participation of hundreds of millions of Indians. Ministry of Finance figures show that the government paid ₹957 crore in UPI incentives i...

School Thik Karo encourages citizens to record deficiencies in government schools. Its early audits have prompted repairs, but confrontations in Rajasthan, West Bengal and Maharashtra show how quickly scrutiny can turn into a dispute over who is allowed to collect evidence. When members of the youth pressure group Cockroach Janta Party arrived at Rampura-Kanwarpura village near Jaipur on August 21, they planned to inspect a government primary school reportedly operating from a makeshift structure. They left without completing the inspection. Videos showed members of the group being chased and assaulted and their vehicles being damaged. CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka alleged that people associated with the BJP had attacked the team. Local BJP MLA Kailash Verma offered a sharply different account. He accused CJP members of frightening villagers and claimed that they had damaged their own vehicles to gain sympathy. Publicly available footage undermined that part of his account. An Alt New...

The cancellation of disputed recruitment exercises addressed a central demand of protesting aspirants. It also placed thousands of successful candidates in uncertainty. On August 18, job aspirants protesting alleged irregularities in Jharkhand’s recruitment examinations celebrated a major concession. After a 26-day agitation, the State government had agreed to cancel several disputed recruitment processes and investigate others. But the celebrations were soon followed by another protest. This time, the demonstrators were candidates who had cleared the examinations. Many had already joined government service. Around 2,700 selected or recruited candidates reportedly opposed the cancellations, arguing that the government should identify those involved in wrongdoing instead of invalidating entire selections. The New Indian Express The government’s notifications affected several categories of recruitment. Detailed reports said 22 recruitment processes were cancelled, six were placed on hold...

Social media has drawn national attention to alleged recruitment-exam irregularities in Jharkhand. It has also complicated the question of who represents the affected candidates. Thousands of job aspirants marched towards the Jharkhand Assembly on August 10, turning a state recruitment dispute into a national story. Reuters reported that protesters crossed barricades before police used water cannons, tear gas and batons. Police said some protesters became violent and that only limited force was used. Protesters accused the police of using excessive force. These accounts remain disputed, but the clash marked a sharp escalation in the agitation that began on July 25. Behind the dramatic footage lies a less visible fact: the protest is not led by one unified group. The protesters allege irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. Their main demands include cancelling the 14th JPSC preliminary examinatio...

The BJP mastered social media to bypass traditional gatekeepers. Now, young Indians are using the same digital space to challenge its narrative and overcome a culture of political fear. The BJP understood the political power of the internet before most of its opponents did. Social media allowed Narendra Modi to reduce his dependence on traditional journalism, speak directly to voters and build a political image that was everywhere at once. Online campaigns did not merely promote the BJP. They helped create the Modi era. But the internet does not remain loyal to those who master it first. When the weapon changes hands Young Indians are now using the same digital space to question authority, ridicule political messaging and turn private frustration into public anger. The Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, is the latest example. What began as an online satirical response to a judicial remark about unemployed youth soon became a rallying point for anger over unemployment, examination paper lea...