The Indian government has introduced a 0.4% transaction fee on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments exceeding Rs 2,000 for merchants, effective October 15, marking the end of nearly six years of free service. Person-to-person transfers and small-value transactions below Rs 2,000 remain free. The new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) is capped at Rs 300 for transactions above Rs 75,000, with differentiated rates for essential sectors and investments, and safeguards to prevent costs from being passed to consumers.
The Indian government has introduced a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions exceeding Rs 2,000, effective October 15. This move ends nearly six years of fully free UPI payments, though person-to-person (P2P) transfers and small P2M payments remain free. The charges aim to bolster investment in UPI infrastructure, with specific exemptions and caps for essential sectors.
From April 1, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India's new authentication directions modernise how every digital payment you make must be verified -- and place the burden of security squarely on your bank, not on you.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has proposed a 20-point policy agenda to the finance ministry, including a conflict-linked emergency credit line guarantee scheme and tax rationalisation on energy inputs, to support MSMEs, exporters, and energy-intensive industries affected by the ongoing West Asia war.
The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
With Income Tax Act 2025 in force, your tax choice can quietly cost you big money if you're not paying attention. Ramalingam Kalirajan explains how
'LIC will reduce but not fully exit its stake in IDBI Bank, which remains an important bancassurance partner,' says LIC of India' MD and CEO R Doraiswamy.
The exemption of individual life and health insurance premiums from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) enables the insurance industry to make products affordable and attractive, said Ajay Seth, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has planned a slew of further relaxations to facilitate easier registrations of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), including a common know-your-client (KYC) and smoother documentation through India digital signature.
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
Investors and startup executives are calling for extending the period for an entity to be recognised as a startup from 10 to 15 years for deep-tech companies.
To make sure liquid schemes reflect the underlying portfolio risks, Sebi has said all debt papers with maturity of 30 days or more to be marked to market. Earlier, fund houses didn't have to do so for securities that had less than 60-day maturity.
Younger customers should opt for increasing cover as their financial commitments are likely to rise in the future.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
The heightened global uncertainty due to the US "reciprocal tariffs" on India may cause near-term corrections and market turbulence, but the long-term outlook remains constructive, market experts said on Thursday. The US has announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India, citing high import duties imposed by New Delhi on American goods.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'The steel industry expects the government to decide on safeguard measures from dumping post-Budget'
Significant controls and exemptions to the government under the proposed Digital Personal Data Protection bill 2022 are likely to make it harder for companies to invest in data centres and data processing activities in India, according to global technology industry body ITI. The ministry of electronics and IT has floated draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill 2022 and has invited comments on the same till January 2. "The Bill grants significant controls to the executive arm of GOI (Government of India) and delegates much of the detailed rulemaking authority to separate, as yet undefined processes.
Your choice between the Old and New Tax Regimes should reflect your financial strategy and investment goals, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
rediffGURU and financial planning expert Colonel Sanjeev Govila will answer your personal finance-related questions.
'Filing a nil ITR serves as a formal declaration to the tax authorities that your earnings fell below the taxable threshold in the given financial year, and you had no tax liability during that period.'
Anamika Pareek explains the advantages of investing in tax-saving options like the equity-linked savings schemes.
There are reports that the government will soon cut income taxes by about Rs 50,000 crore to boost consumption.
Prime Minister Modi, I suggest that, instead, you distribute about one lakh crore rupees per year to the 80 crore poor, which will boost both consumption and economic growth, suggests Kalyan Singhal, McCurdy Professor of Business at the University of Baltimore.
Not filing an ITR or paying the tax dues on the deceased's behalf can lead to penal consequences.
India continues to apply import quotas on marble.
'Planning for the transfer of assets to the next generation is an important aspect of financial and estate planning.'
Missing the deadline for filing Income Tax returns can lead to consequences.
Singapore is the favoured destination as it has traditionally had a stable fund management regime; also, its tax treaty with India is similar to that of Mauritius
For the time being, digital lending remains a grey area, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
However, a prolonged and intense second wave that curtails oxygen supply to industries for a longer-than-expected period will exacerbate downside risk in affected sectors
The Bill says that the central government, in consultation with the Data Protection Authority, can direct any data fiduciary or data processor to provide non-personal data to enable better targeting of delivery of services. The government can also ask data processors to provide data for formulation of evidence-based policies for its own use.
Investors can sell a part of the stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other securities held in their portfolios at a loss and use this loss to offset tax on the capital gains made on the sale of other securities.
With time the start-up action plan will need to be tweaked and will need to move in the direction of removing both hurdles and privileges.
Facing an acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, the Odisha government on Monday decided to float a global tender for procuring the vaccine to inoculate the states entire population, Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said.
A K Bhattacharya digs into the yet-to-be-public report on ways to curb black money and finds out that Modi's next moves could include action on dabba trading, hawala, and education.
Indians want change and progress. They should be willing to accept tough decisions, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
What is more surprising is that a surge in Russian oil supplies has come after the G7 imposed stringent sanctions on Moscow.
Even though the powers of the board of directors stand suspended once a company's insolvency process begins, it does not absolve the directors from actions taken up to two years earlier.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
'We revolutionised the system in a manner so that the chances of leakage will be much lower than it was in the beginning.'
