UPSC Prelims
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Prelims Pinpointer
Prelims Pinpointer — September 16, 2026
Today’s high-yield Prelims facts — MDR returns to UPI transactions above ₹2,000, the six-state Kishau Multipurpose Project breakthrough, FPI outflows and rupee depreciation, and the gaps in international space law on militarisation
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MDR Returns to UPI Payments Above ₹2,000
News Context
- The NPCI has announced that from October 15, merchants will pay a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4% on UPI transactions above ₹2,000 — ending the zero-MDR regime that has applied to UPI since 2020. P2P transactions and small vendors remain fully exempt.
Key Facts for Prelims
- MDR is the fee a merchant (not the customer) pays to banks/PSPs for accepting a digital payment, shared among the acquiring bank, issuing bank, payment app/PSP and network (NPCI/Visa/Mastercard/RuPay).
- Zero-MDR regime was introduced via the Finance Act, 2020.
- NPCI: umbrella organisation for retail payments, set up in 2008 by RBI and IBA as a Section 8 “Not for Profit” company; operates under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, regulated by RBI. NPCI is NOT a government body or statutory regulator — RBI regulates, NPCI operates.
| Transaction Type | MDR |
|---|---|
| P2P (any value) | Nil |
| P2M up to ₹2,000 (UPI/RuPay debit) | Nil |
| Small vendors (up to ₹1 lakh/month via UPI QR) | Nil |
| P2M above ₹2,000 (general) | 0.4% |
| Railways/telecom/insurance/fuel/agri-inputs above ₹2,000 | Flat ₹5 |
Exam trap: NPCI products include UPI, RuPay, IMPS, NACH, AePS, BHIM, Bharat BillPay, FASTag (NETC), UPI 123Pay, UPI Lite/Lite X, NFS and the Cheque Truncation System — a favourite matching-type prelims area.
Source: The Hindu
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Kishau Multipurpose Project: Six-State Breakthrough
News Context
- Six states — Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan — have agreed to implement the 422 MW Kishau Multipurpose Project on the Tons River after an eight-year deadlock. The Centre funds ~90% of the cost; the project awaits Union Cabinet approval.
Key Facts for Prelims
- A proposed 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam on the Tons River (the largest Yamuna tributary), on the HP-Uttarakhand border; estimated cost ₹15,624 crore.
- Irrigation potential ~97,000 hectares; declared a “National Project” in February 2008; executed through the Kishau Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (an HP-Uttarakhand JV, incorporated January 2017).
- Concerns: submergence/displacement of ~5,500 people across 17 villages; high seismic zone vulnerability; deforestation and R&R challenges.
Article 262
Provides for adjudication of inter-state river water disputes; Parliament can bar Supreme Court jurisdiction over such disputes.
Entry 17 vs Entry 56
Water is Entry 17 (State List); inter-state river regulation is Entry 56 (Union List), if Parliament declares it expedient.
Source: The Hindu
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FPI Outflows and Rupee Depreciation
News Context
- FPIs sold ₹13,138 crore of Indian shares in the first 10 trading days of September. In 2026 so far, FPIs have withdrawn a record ₹2.38 lakh crore from Indian stocks; the rupee weakened for five consecutive sessions to ₹95.88/USD.
Key Facts for Prelims
- FPI = investment in financial assets without seeking control — short-term, liquid, reversible “hot money”; FDI = ownership/control, long-term, more stable.
- Most FPI selling happens in the secondary market (already-issued securities traded on NSE/BSE), as opposed to the primary market (new securities/IPOs).
- FPIs are governed by SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2019, a unified FPI framework merging earlier categories.
| Feature | FDI | FPI |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Long-term, control-seeking | Short-term, passive |
| Volatility | Low | High (“hot money”) |
| Regulator | DPIIT / RBI | SEBI (registration) / RBI (forex) |
Source: The Hindu
🛰️
Space Militarisation and the Outer Space Treaty
News Context
- The US announced for the first time that it has weapons deployed in space. China and Russia criticised the move, calling for space to remain weapon-free — highlighting gaps in international space law, which does not clearly ban conventional weapons in space.
Key Facts for Prelims
- India’s ASAT test (March 2019, “Mission Shakti,” by DRDO) destroyed its own non-functional satellite in LEO — India was the 4th country after the US, Russia and China to demonstrate this capability.
- The Outer Space Treaty, 1967 bars nuclear weapons/WMDs in orbit or on celestial bodies, but does NOT prohibit conventional weapons or weapons targeting physical infrastructure in space, and is silent on Earth-to-space weapons.
- The Artemis Accords (NASA/US State Dept, voluntary, 70+ signatories including India) focus on peaceful cooperative exploration but do NOT prohibit weapons deployment by signatories.
PPWT (2008)
China-Russia proposal to ban all weapons in space, but excluded Earth-to-space weapons — never materialised into a treaty.
PAROS
“Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space” — ongoing UN Conference on Disarmament discussion, no binding treaty yet.
Exam trap: Space-to-Earth weapons (satellite weapons striking Earth targets) have NOT been demonstrated by any country, including the US — the 2026 disclosure concerned undisclosed-category “on-orbit space control weapons,” not Space-to-Earth capability.
Source: Indian Express
