A high-level committee, including representatives from banks and payment associations, is set to decide on Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for UPI transactions exceeding Rs 2,000 to merchants. While person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions up to Rs 2,000 remain free, the move follows a recent amendment to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, sparking debate and clarification from the Finance Minister that only certain high-value merchant transactions might incur charges.
Did love make Bhagat Singh a weaker revolutionary? In a heated argument once, Sukhdev accused him of allowing his fascination with a woman to come in the way of revolutionary duty. Bhagat Singh's answer, in a letter days later, was a defence of love as a revolutionary's strength, not a weakness. On Bhagat Singh's 119th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra looks at the friendship, arguments and ideas that bound him and Sukhdev together.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the opposition to support the government's bills for implementing the women's reservation law, cautioning against politicisation and assuring that delimitation will be fair to all states.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to discuss resolving the persistent deadlock in the Lok Sabha's monsoon session, focusing on the Delimitation Bill and FCRA Bill, though no immediate commitment was secured from the Congress leader.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru aim to leverage their powerful batting lineup against Lucknow Super Giants' disciplined bowling attack in their upcoming IPL match
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a strong attack on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, accusing them of compromising India's interests on the world stage and selling out farmers and the poor during their time in power.
The Centre's move on Chandigarh has raised the hackles of various parties in Punjab, with Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal terming it as a "direct attack" on Punjab's identity and constitutional rights.
'The definitions in the Act are so wide and so vague that they can be easily misused to target individuals who may not be conducive to the present government in power.'
The Election Commission will publish the draft electoral rolls for Bihar assembly polls, triggering a period for claims and objections amid fears of voter exclusion.
Amid opposition allegations of manipulation of electoral rolls, sources in the Election Commission Monday said the matter related to duplicate voter identity card numbers is a 'legacy issue' with such cards being issued even between 2008 and 2013 when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was not in power.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin announced that his party will file a case in the Supreme Court against the Waqf Bill passed in the Lok Sabha. The opposition AIADMK expressed solidarity with the DMK's stance, while the BJP members staged a walkout from the Assembly in protest. The CM argued that the amendment was passed at the behest of a few allies despite opposition from majority parties and that it is an attack on the Constitution and religious harmony. The DMK claims the bill threatens the autonomy of the Waqf Board and the Muslim minority population.
Seeking to allay fears that existing Waqf properties will be subject to scrutiny after the amended Waqf law comes into force, a parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommended that no cases will be reopened against such properties on a retrospective basis, provided the asset is not in dispute or belongs to the government.
India's recent move to remove additional 'retaliatory' duty on eight products from the United States (US), including apples and walnuts, would not have any negative impact on the domestic producers, the government clarified, even as the issue threatened to snowball into a political slugfest between the ruling and Opposition parties. The move would, in fact, result in competition in the premium market segment, ensuring better quality at better prices for consumers, especially for apples, a senior government official said. "There were certain concerns that were being raised on the mutually agreed solution that has come in, more specific to seven-eight agriculture products where we had levied additional import duties in retaliation to the steel and aluminum measures (imposed by the US)," Peeyush Kumar, additional secretary in the commerce department, told reporters in a briefing.
IMAGES from the 3rd T20I between India and England in Rajkot on Tuesday.
The Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday vociferously opposed any move to allow Foreign Direct Investment in general retail trade and demanded a full discussion on the issue.
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy Group A match played between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai on Sunday.
'These machines are standalone devices with no external connectivity, making hacking impossible. The chip in EVMs is one-time programmable, ensuring no changes can be made. Strict security and administrative protocols further prevent any tampering'
He sought to nix speculation that the Congress and the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray were working on a 'Plan B' to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls without his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party.
The India-US nuclear deal was aimed at ending India's nuclear isolation and nuclear apartheid, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
Mo Bobat, Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, on Sunday allayed fitness concerns surrounding Glenn Maxwell ahead of their IPL 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru.
'The visit of the honourable PM with the workable strategy towards conflict resolution will help greatly.' 'But visiting the state without concrete proposals may not bring the desired outcome at this stage.'
"The Opposition's mahagathbandhan is an alliance of corruption, negativity and instability. The Opposition has 'dhanshakti' (money power), we have 'janshakti' (people's power)," the prime minister said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has honoured Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain refugees by giving them citizenship through Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Union home minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday and maintained there is no provision of stripping of anyone's citizenship in the new law.
The prime minister addressed a gathering at Hussainiwala.
They realised that the Portuguese were better prepared to defend Daman than Dadra and Nagar Haveli. If reinforcements from Daman were to reach Silvassa, there was no chance of defeating the Portuguese. They decided that cutting Daman's communication lines would have to be their top priority before attacking Silvassa. A fascinating excerpt from Neelesh Kulkarni's new book, Uprising-The Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The bill was introduced following a division of votes, with 186 members supporting and 74 opposing it.
Although the credit for acquiring the technological skill must be given to India's outstanding nuclear scientists, the decision to go nuclear was a political one that entailed clarity of vision, courage and resolve, points out Rup Narayan Das.
The Rajya Sabha on Monday saw high drama and embarrassment for the government as a Constitution amendment bill on backward classes was changed after some amendments moved by the Opposition were passed by the House.
Pakistan is confident Australia's cricket tour in March and April can go ahead despite security fears, officials said on Tuesday.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday told Rajya Sabha members that he was the ''father of toll tax" on expressways in the country as he built the first such road in Maharashtra during his stint as the state minister in late 1990s.
The United States on Monday said a civil nuclear deal cannot be finalised with Pakistan till it addresses the world community's concerns about proliferation and explains its opposition to the proposed Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
Thackeray, whose Maha Vikas Aghadi government fell after a rebellion in June last year by his cabinet colleague Eknath Shinde, who went on to become CM, also warned he would extract revenge for his ouster.
"I had sought an appointment with the PM to meet him along with an all-party delegation from Bihar, including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, to discuss the issue of a caste-based census. I thank him for giving us time next Monday at 11 am," Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar told reporters in Patna.
Jaitley insisted the new central notification will not interfere with state laws on slaughtering animals.
According to a notification issued by the Union home ministry, the Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 will come into effect from May 22.
The contentious bill providing for legal sanction to police to obtain physical and biological samples of convicts and detainees for investigation in criminal matters was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday, with Home Minister Amit Shah asserting it will act as a defender of human rights of law-abiding citizens.
Members of the Karnataka legislative assembly on Monday demanded a thorough probe into the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said his government will undertake a "socio-economic survey of all castes and communities" in the state, following the Centre's reluctance to conduct a caste census nationally.
The CrPC (Identification) Bill empowers the police to obtain physical and biological samples of convicts and those accused of crimes while the DMC (Amendment) Bill, 2022 seeks to unify the three civic bodies in the national capital.
India's stiff labour laws were one key issue that Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed with Prime Minister Modi on his recent visit.
