Mumbai, Sep 19: In a sharp political offensive against the Central government’s decision to introduce a 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions above Rs 2,000, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday alleged that the administration has ensnared the nation in a carefully laid “digital trap”.

In a detailed statement on social media platform X, the MNS Chief accused the ruling MahaYuti coalition-led Maharashtra government of lulling Indian citizens into a false sense of security with free digital transactions, only to quietly impose transaction fees and taxes once people became dependent on the platform.

Tracing the trajectory of digital payments from the 2016 Demonetisation move to the nationwide push for UPI adoption, Raj Thackeray said that the trajectory was planned to make citizens reliant on digital architecture before levying charges.

“First came Demonetisation; then the UPI system was introduced with great fanfare to showcase the push for digital transactions. They trumpeted its success, basked in self-praise, got people habituated to it, and then suddenly announced that fees would apply. In short, they lulled citizens into a false sense of security and quietly ensnared them in a digital trap,” he remarked.

He said that he had consistently warned the public against assuming that zero-fee digital services would remain permanent, saying that the government’s process of “coming knocking at your door” to collect revenues has now officially begun.

He questioned why permanent budgetary provisions for long-term maintenance and cybersecurity were not established during the initial investment phase if the intent was genuinely to simplify transactions rather than monetise them later.

Rejecting the Union government’s claim that the 0.4 per cent MDR burden falls solely on merchants, Raj Thackeray asserted that the Union government possesses zero monitoring mechanisms to prevent small and large businesses from passing the extra operational cost onto consumers.

He sharply criticised the levy of 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on top of the MDR, accusing the Finance Ministry of attempting to “dip into citizens’ pockets wherever possible”.

Raising questions around international policy influences, Raj Thackeray cited Opposition’s allegations regarding US pressure and asked whether foreign card corporations and global payment networks influenced the policy decision.

Releasing a official government tweet screenshot from August 21, 2022 — which explicitly promised that UPI services would remain completely free — the MNS Chief called the recent policy shift evidence of “unclear and non-transparent intentions”.

He formally registered his party’s protest against the implementation of the Merchant Discount Rate.

Calling upon the trading community, small business owners, and retail associations to take a unified stand, Raj Thackeray urged merchants across Maharashtra and the nation to vehemently oppose paying the new transaction levies.

Mumbai, Sep 19: The Indian equity benchmarks posted notable losses for the sixth consecutive week as foreign institutional investor (FII) selling continued and concerns about a prolonged high‑rate environment kept investors cautious.

Nifty declined 0.22 per cent during the week and added 0.33 per cent on the last trading day to reach 23,346. At close, Sensex was down 19 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 74,294. It lost 0.65 per cent during the week.

After a weak start, Indian equities staged a partial recovery later, supported by a retreat in crude oil prices from recent highs.

“With the US and Japanese policy decisions broadly in line with expectations, easing energy inflation concerns helped temper the inflation premium embedded in sovereign yields, leading to a moderation in yields in the latter part of the week and some relief for equity valuations,” an analyst said.

However, the accompanying policy guidance continued to signal a broader tightening bias across major economies, making a prolonged high-rate environment likely.

Against this backdrop, persistent FII selling sustained pressure on the rupee and capped the market rebound, leaving domestic equities lower for the week, he added.

Mid and small-cap stocks outperformed large caps as investors rotated toward domestically oriented businesses with stronger earnings visibility, healthier order books and sound balance sheets.

Sectorally, healthcare and FMCG attracted buying on their defensive earnings profiles and domestic demand linkage.

Realty and metals remained among the stronger sectors on Friday, while IT continued to face pressure, with the Nifty IT index declining around 1 per cent.

Mid and small-cap IT stocks and consumer durables declined this week on concerns over global technology spending and discretionary demand in a higher-for-longer interest rate environment and persistent pricing pressure, respectively.

Meanwhile, the 23,000–23,100 zone remains the immediate support area for Nifty, while 23,400–23,600 region remains the immediate resistance zone.

Market participants forecast that domestic credit growth and PMI readings will provide a gauge of underlying activity in the week ahead.

US initial jobless claims and commentary from Federal Reserve officials will shape expectations on the rate trajectory and global liquidity conditions.

New Delhi, Sep 18: Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are seeing stronger initial demand in India than their predecessors despite higher prices, with analysts and retailers reporting a 15‑28 per cent year‑on‑year uptick at launch.

“While it’s too early to share definitive sales figures, initial demand for the 18 Pro is outperforming the 17 Pro YoY,” said Tarun Pathak, Research Director, Counterpoint Research after the firm checked data from 12 stores.

“Burgundy color is in demand and along with interest for higher storage variants. Early feedback is positive, though we’ll need to monitor performance over a longer window once the initial launch hype stabilises,” Pathak added.

Apple resellers are driving sales in terms of numbers and catering to buyers across different locations, he said, adding that Apple Stores see massive surges for launch-day enthusiast buying due to strong pre-orders.

Retailers said launch‑day stock supplied to stores had largely sold out and fresh allocations were being assigned, while industry experts said the absence of a standard iPhone 18 this year had concentrated demand on the two Pro models.

Apple began selling the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in India on Friday, through its online store and six retail outlets across the country. The models can also be bought through Apple’s authorised reseller network, online marketplaces and large-format retailers.

The iPhone 18 Pro starts at Rs 1,64,900 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at Rs 1,74,900 for the base 256GB models. Apple is offering Rs 7,000 instant cashback on eligible card EMI transactions and Rs 6,000 on eligible card full‑swipe purchases for both Pro models.

Customers exchanging an existing device can also enjoy a trade-in top-up of up to Rs 10,000, depending on the residual value of the device.

Apple’s first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, is expected to hit markets in India from October 23.