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The News Today: Krishnamurthy Subramanian & Santosh Mehrotra On UPI LevyIn this edition of The News Today, anchor Rajdeep Sardesai leads a crucial discussion examining the government's UPI merchant discount rate levy. Joining the panel are Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, and Professor Santosh Mehrotra, Visiting Professor at the University of Bath. Professor Mehrotra argues against continuous taxpayer subsidies for digital payments, advocating instead that transaction costs should be fairly apportioned between banks, multinational platforms, and merchants. Meanwhile, Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian warns that imposing an ad valorem transaction tax fails to align with UPI mechanics and risks driving small merchants back to cash transactions. He underlines that UPI should primarily serve as an engine for credit creation to generate income for banking infrastructure and technology investments rather than imposing friction on digital commerce. The panellists also assess whether merchants will ultimately pass these costs onto consumers and analyse the broader economic ramifications of altering the fee structure for digital payments.