The Congress party has strongly refuted claims by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Chairperson Bhartruhari Mahtab that opposition MPs supported levying a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions. Congress MP Manish Tewari termed Mahtab's remarks "erroneous and fallacious," clarifying that the committee's recommendation was to "explore" revenue models, not to implement MDR. The party accused Mahtab of misleading due to his recent switch to the BJP.
Opposition MPs have voiced strong concerns regarding the government's decision to levy a 0.4 per cent fee on UPI payments above Rs 2,000 made to merchants, effective October 15. They argue that this "anti-people" move will negatively impact a large segment of the population, despite the finance ministry clarifying that the charge is on the merchant ecosystem and not directly on customers for P2P or small payments.
The Indian government has challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of levying fees on UPI payments above Rs 2,000 to merchants. The government highlighted that a parliamentary standing committee, which included Congress MPs, had previously backed a tiered Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for UPI. This move aims to ensure the financial sustainability of the UPI ecosystem and reduce its dependence on government subsidies, a concern raised by the committee due to the significant funding gap between allocations and operational costs.
Opposition MPs have voiced strong criticism against the government's new fee on UPI payments exceeding Rs 2,000 to merchants, calling it "anti-people" and expressing widespread "outrage". The issue was raised in a Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting, where concerns were also flagged regarding the methodology of GDP growth calculation and the government's stance on Virtual Digital Assets.
A government bill proposing to widen the remit of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is facing scrutiny from Members of Parliament. Concerns have been raised that the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, could reduce the premier institute's autonomy. The bill, currently under examination by a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, aims to incorporate ISI as a 'body corporate' to strengthen governance and promote academic excellence, but critics fear increased government control.
The Congress party has strongly refuted government claims that its MPs on the Parliament Standing Committee on Finance supported a fee on high-value UPI payments. Congress leaders, including Gaurav Gogoi and Manish Tewari, stated that the "UPI tax" proposal was not specifically discussed by the committee, accusing the Modi government of diverting attention from public backlash and appeasing US companies. The government, however, cited the committee's report which pressed for a tiered Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework.
All services on the income-tax e-filing portal -- both pre-login and post-login -- are expected to be updated by April 1 to reflect the new legal framework.
BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been awarded the Sansad Ratna for his outstanding performance in the Lok Sabha, becoming the first actor-turned-politician to receive the honour.
The Congress accused the BJP-led government of "destroying parliamentary norms" by ignoring the claim of Suresh, a eight-term Lok Sabha member, to the post of the pro-tem Speaker.
The government has moved to increase the strength of the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise the two bills proposing simultaneous elections from 31 MPs to 39, giving representation to more parties.
The BJP's vote share in Cuttack went up from 9 per cent in 2009 to 38 per cent in 2019.
The decision on Rahul Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of Opposition was made after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.
Biju Janata Dal founding member and six-time Cuttack Lok Sabha MP Bhartruhari Mahtab joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Thursday, dealing a big blow to the Odisha's ruling party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday as the Monsoon Session of Parliament gets underway next week with the united opposition set to corner the National Democratic Alliance government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case and railway safety.
The Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly-elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has begun consultations with its allies on the ruling National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post while the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is considering its options and may force a contest to score political points, sources said on Monday, a day before the filing of nomination for the key position.
The row over the appointment of Bharatiya Janata Party leader and seven-term member Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem speaker is likely to cast a shadow over the session.
After taking oath, he hailed his state Telangana, Bhimrao Ambedkar, apart from raising the AIMIM's slogan for Muslim, along with the West Asian country.
Opposition leaders nominated to the panel of chairpersons to assist the pro tem Speaker are considering not accepting the positions, a source said on Saturday.
National Democratic Alliance nominee Om Birla was elected as Lok Sabha speaker on Wednesday after a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was adopted through voice vote, capping intense debate on the issue with the opposition in a rare move proposing its own candidate.
This is the first bill passed by the Lower House of Parliament in the Winter session, which began on Monday.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which was passed by a voice vote after a short debate, also allows the Centre to take possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
The Question Hour in Lok Sabha has been disrupted every day since March 13.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday blamed India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's "two major blunders" -- declaring a ceasefire without winning the entire Kashmir and taking the issue to the United Nations -- for the sufferings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday appealed to the opposition for the unanimous passage of the women's reservation bill and said shortcomings, if any, can be rectified at a later date.
Speaker Om Birla on Thursday drew praise from Lok Sabha members for identifying potential of members and encouraging them to speak on the floor of the House after a first-time woman MP, known for spearheading self-help groups, raised the issue of women unemployment.
Later in the day, Flipkart condemned the attack and said it has blacklisted the seller from its platform and is extending all support to the probe agencies.
Amid protests by Opposition members seeking a debate on price rise, the Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022, which seeks to extend the application of domestic laws to research stations set up by India in the Antarctic region.
A meeting of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday witnessed a verbal slugfest between its chairman Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and MPs from the ruling National Democratic Alliance as the Congress leader sought to raise the issue of COVID-19 vaccination drive for discussion in the panel, sources said.
Shashi Tharoor has also been retained as the chairman of the panel on Information Technology.
As soon as Lok Sabha assembled, opposition members stormed into the well holding placards and shouting slogans. They demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the alleged stock manipulation by the Adani Group.
Parliamentary standing committee on labour, led by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, has said in its report that it is unjustifiable for owners to pay workers' wages during natural calamities.
More than five questions and supplementaries, mostly related to agriculture and horticulture, were taken up before the proceedings were first adjourned till noon. The Question Hour went on for nearly 40 minutes.
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Thursday following a request from the government that the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 be taken up for consideration when Opposition members are also present in the House.
She also took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over its defeat in the just-concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, saying the ruling party's president could not hold on to his home state. "Who is the Pappu now?" she asked.
The trend of disruption of Parliament proceedings over the demonetisation issue is likely to continue on Monday with the Opposition parties insisting on their demand for discussion with voting rule in Lok Sabha and an apology by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rajya Sabha.
A section of BJP leaders is of the view that the leadership may spring a surprise with its choice for the post by appointing someone from southern India.
The session started on January 29 and was originally slated to end on April 8 but several members had urged Speaker Om Birla to end the session earlier as they focus on electioneering for the five assemblies.
The bill bars commercial surrogacy and allows the process only by close relatives for "altruistic" reasons.
Trinamool Congress's Lok Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi would get the award for 2016 and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad would get it for 2015, the Lok Sabha secretariat said in a statement.
