After Congress MP Rahul Gandhi trained his guns at the Modi government, demanding an immediate rollback of the new UPI fee rule, the Centre hit back by citing a parliamentary panel’s recommendation on a tiered revenue framework, reportedly backed by five Congress MPs, including former finance minister P Chidambaram.
The functionary said five Congress MPs — P Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Gaurav Gogoi, Kishori Lal and K Gopinath — were present when the panel adopted its report on August 12, according to news agency PTI. The panel further noted that UPI could process up to 150 billion transactions per month and add 600 million new users. However, it said the current government incentive covered only 11% of the industry’s actual costs and 14% of potential MDR collections, creating a structural funding gap that could affect long-term infrastructure investment. Earlier reporting noted: Government functionary questions Rahul’s criticism of UPI charges, says Congress MPs in panel gave nod The government on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) questioned the rationale behind Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the decision to levy a fee on UPI payments to merchants above ₹2,000 , saying a parliamentary standing committee had backed such a move and Congress members of the panel had supported it. Earlier reporting noted: Five Congress MPs including P Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Gaurav Gogoi, Kishori Lal and K Gopinath were present on August 12 when the report was adopted, with no dissent recorded in the published minutes, the functionary said.
A senior government functionary said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had recommended introducing a tiered Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for UPI transactions and called for the framework to be implemented without delay. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, pressed for a tiered MDR and revenue framework for UPI, recommending that it be notified and operationalised without delay, according to the government functionary, cited by PTI. “The Committee would like to emphasize that establishing a viable revenue mechanism is critical to ensuring the UPI ecosystem achieves financial sustainability without perpetually straining the Government exchequer,” the report said. Earlier reporting noted: A senior government functionary said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had pressed for a tiered Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)/ revenue framework for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and noted that it should be notified and operationalised without delay.
Govt questions Rahul Gandhi’s opposition
The remarks came after Gandhi criticised the government’s decision to levy a fee on UPI payments to merchants above ₹ 2,000.
“Why is Rahul Gandhi opposing something his own MPs including former finance minister P Chidambaram and former minister in the UPA government Manish Tewari supported within the parliamentary panel,” the functionary asked. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had decided to “prostrate” before US President Donald Trump and give a huge amount of money to America.
