INDIAN EXPRESS DATED 16th SEP 2026

Summary of Important News Items Editorials-463

INDIAN EXPRESS DATED 16th SEP 2026.

(for reading Indian Express News items from 1 to 462 please visit –

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1. Inflation Broadens: Editorial Makes the Case for an RBI Rate Hike

Retail inflation increased to 4.8% in August from 4.45% in July, with food inflation rising to 5.95%; core inflation also strengthened, indicating that price pressures are spreading beyond volatile food and fuel items. Wholesale inflation reached 9.92%. The risks are compounded by deficient rainfall, which has increased vulnerability of crops such as cotton, bajra, maize, tur, groundnut and soybean, and by the West Asia crisis, which has sharply raised crude-oil prices. The RBI has projected CPI inflation at 5.9% in the third quarter, while some estimates cited by the newspaper suggest it could approach or breach the upper end of the inflation-targeting band. The MPC had retained the repo rate at 5.25% in August with a neutral stance. The editorial’s stand is that resilient economic growth combined with increasingly broad-based inflation strengthens the case for monetary tightening. The gist is that monetary policy must prevent temporary food and energy shocks from becoming entrenched general inflation while balancing the cost to growth and investment.

2. UPI Gets MDR: Merchants to Pay 0.4% Above Rs 2,000

NPCI announced that from October 15, person-to-merchant UPI payments above Rs 2,000 will attract a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate, capped at Rs 300 per transaction. Payments up to Rs 2,000 remain free, as do person-to-person transfers. Small merchants receiving up to Rs 1 lakh monthly through UPI QR codes will continue under a zero-MDR framework, while specified categories such as railway tickets, fuel, agricultural inputs, insurance, taxes and certain utility payments will face a flat Rs 5 merchant charge. Although transactions above Rs 2,000 constitute only about 4% of P2M UPI transactions by volume, they account for roughly two-thirds by value. NPCI argues that MDR revenue will finance technological innovation, cybersecurity, encryption and fraud detection, while enabling new fintech firms to compete. The logic is to move from universal zero pricing towards differentiated pricing without undermining financial inclusion. The key policy requirement is ensuring that merchants do not transfer these costs to consumers and that micro-businesses remain protected.

3. India-China Relations: ‘Three Mutuals’ Remain the Guiding Principle