[Marxistindia] No to Charges on UPI Transactions

[news from the cpi(m)]

August 6, 2026

 

Press Statement

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the
following statement:

 

No to Charges on UPI Transactions

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its
strong opposition to the Union government's proposal to levy of charges on
UPI transactions. 

 

Under the banner of Digital India, it was the Modi government that
aggressively promoted digital payments and UPI (Unified Payments Interface)
as a free public utility, with the Prime Minister himself repeatedly urging
citizens, small traders and businesses to abandon cash and embrace digital
transactions. The PM himself has featured in advertisements including that
of a private payments company promoting UPI. In fact this promotion was even
posed as a justification for demonetisation.

 

Now that the ordinary citizens have adopted this as the means of
payment/transaction, the government is now seeking to convert that very
public infrastructure into a source of revenue by proposing transaction
charges. This amounts to a breach of public trust as the government all
along maintained that UPI would remain free.

 

This move cannot be seen in isolation. Over the past decade, the people have
been subjected to a steady increase in several banking-related charges -
penalties for non-maintenance of minimum balances, higher charges for ATM
transactions beyond prescribed limits, debit card maintenance fees, SMS
alert charges etc. - have all made accessing essential banking services
dearer. 

 

The Polit Bureau demands the immediate withdrawal of the proposed
legislation. UPI must remain a free, universal and a publicly accountable
digital payment system accessible to all. 

 

 

Muralidharan

For CPI(M) Central Committee

 

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