{
  "id": 8515014,
  "title": "‘Digital Trap Set For Citizens’: MNS Chief Raj Thackeray Attacks Govt Over 0.4 Per Cent UPI Charges",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/digital-trap-set-for-citizens-mns-chief-raj-thackeray-attacks-govt",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T18:43:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/digital-trap-set-for-citizens-mns-chief-raj-thackeray-attacks-govt-over-04-per-cent-upi-charges"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray has criticised the Central government over the introduction of a 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions above Rs 2,000. Thackeray alleged that the government has set a \"digital trap\" for citizens, lulling them into a false sense of security with free digital transactions before quietly imposing transaction fees and taxes once people become dependent on the platform. He questioned the lack of permanent budgetary provisions for long-term maintenance and cybersecurity during the initial investment phase, suggesting that the government's true intent was to monetize the digital payment system.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}