05.08.2026

Statement I: The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 seeks to amend the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 to enable the imposition of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on eligible UPI transactions.

Statement II: The proposed MDR would constitute a direct tax on UPI users and would apply uniformly to all UPI transactions, including small-value person-to-person transfers.

Which of the following concepts/outcomes are the above statements associated with?

1. Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on digital payments
2. Direct taxation of UPI users

26. Between April 1 and August 5, 2026, investment announcements in India amounted to about ₹26.75 lakh crore, with the domestic private sector accounting for the majority of these announcements.
27. A substantial share of the announced investments was concentrated in IT-enabled services, particularly data centres and Artificial Intelligence, and in conventional electricity, particularly nuclear energy.

III. Investment announcements in consumer goods, including automobiles, accounted for only about 0.7% of the total, amid indications of weak consumer demand and surplus capacity.

Inference Statements:

1. The large volume of investment announcements necessarily indicates that India has entered a broad-based private investment cycle across consumer and producer-oriented sectors.
2. The concentration of proposed investments in a few capital-intensive sectors suggests that the recent investment revival may not yet reflect a broad-based strengthening of domestic demand.
3. Persistent weakness in consumer demand can discourage firms from expanding consumer-oriented capacity, even when aggregate investment announcements appear strong.

Which one of the following is correct?

1. Neduntheevu, also known as Delft Island, is located in the Palk Strait and belongs to Sri Lanka.
2. It is the largest among the inhabited islands located in the Palk Strait.
3. The island has a network of perennial streams that constitutes its principal source of freshwater.
4. A Dutch fort constructed using coral is located on the island.

Which of the statements given above are correct?