News This Week: 0.4% UPI MDR, Fed Rate Hike, Katrina's Body-Shaming & Other Top Stories

Hello readers,

It’s been one of those weeks where the headlines just wouldn’t slow down. A new UPI charge could quietly reshape how large merchant transactions work, while halfway across the world, the threat of 100 per cent US tariffs on Russian oil buyers — India included — has raised the stakes on an already delicate balancing act. Add a Fed rate hike, a record-breaking week in T20 cricket, and yet another ugly round of online trolling, and you’ve got a week that touched nearly every corner of the news cycle — economy, geopolitics, markets, sport and culture alike.

Here Are The Biggest News Stories Of This Week

Your Wallet: UPI Just Got a Little More Expensive (For Merchants)

If you’re a heavy UPI user, nothing changes for you directly, but merchants

are about to feel a pinch. From October 15, any person-to-merchant UPI payment over ₹2,000 will carry a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate, capped at ₹300 for the big-ticket transactions (₹75,000+). The good news — merchants eat this cost, not you, and your everyday small UPI payments and P2P transfers stay free as always.

India’s Oil Dilemma: 100% US Tariffs Loom

Things are getting tense for India’s energy strategy. The US House just passed a sanctions package on Russia, and Trump has said he’ll sign it —which means India (and China) could be staring down tariffs of up to 100% on Russian oil purchases. Given how much discounted Russian crude India has been buying since the Ukraine war, this is one to watch closely; it could reshape import bills and diplomatic balancing acts in the months ahead.

Fed Hikes Rates Again

The US Fed just raised rates another 25 basis points, pushing the benchmark to around 3.9%, with hints of one more hike this year toward 4.1%. Translation: borrowing — mortgages, auto loans, credit cards — is about to get pricier in the US, and global markets will likely feel ripple effects too.

Abhishek Sharma Keeps Rewriting Record Book

Switching gears to sport — Abhishek Sharma is quietly having a monster year. He’s now the second-fastest player ever to 6,000 T20 runs (only New Zealand’s Finn Allen got there faster), andhe just smashed the record for the fastest T20I century by an Indian, in the series against Afghanistan.

Katrina Kaif Trolled — Again

And finally, a reminder of how ugly the internet can get:Katrina Kaif made a rare public appearance with her son at the Ambanis’ Ganpati celebration, and instead of just celebrating the moment, trolls dug up old pregnancy photos to body-shame her all over again.

And that’s a wrap on the biggest stories of the week. Stay tuned to News18 for the latest developments, explained simply and delivered as they happen.

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