New Delhi: A public disagreement has surfaced inside the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, revealing internal tensions over the committee's recent observations on digital payment charges. Several Members of Parliament from the Indian National Congress have attempted to dissociate themselves from the committee's report, which noted the presence of Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions. The report, tabled before Parliament, highlighted that despite UPI being a zero-cost initiative in its foundational design, certain payment aggregators and banks have been levying hidden charges on merchants.
The committee's chairperson, Bhartruhari Mahtab, strongly rebutted the claims made by some Congress legislators. He pointed to official meeting attendance records and the final signed report as irrefutable evidence that these MPs were present during the deliberations and endorsed the findings. Mahtab emphasized that the report was the collective outcome of the committee's research and discussions, and individual attempts to rewrite history would not alter the documented proceedings.
This dispute comes at a sensitive time for the government's digital payments drive. UPI has become a cornerstone of India's financial inclusion strategy, processing billions of transactions monthly. Any suggestion that costs are being passed on to merchants could undermine public confidence in the system. Opposition parties have seized upon the issue, arguing that the reality on the ground contradicts the administration's claims of a truly free UPI ecosystem.
Sources within the committee indicate that the discussion on MDR was extensive, with members from various parties contributing to the analysis. The final report recommends a review of the current fee structures and stronger regulatory oversight to ensure transparency. As the procedural row continues, the focus remains on how future policy adjustments will balance the sustainability of payment networks with the original promise of cost-free digital transactions for the common citizen.
