Author: Gaurav Yadav

The government has recently introduced a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on specified UPI payments to merchants above ₹2,000, while keeping person-to-person transactions and most small-value merchant payments free. The move seeks to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the UPI ecosystem, but also raises concerns regarding digital-payment adoption and financial inclusion. Table of Content What… Continue reading UPI Merchant Charges – Rationale & Impact – Explained Pointwise

Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a BRICS open-source AI community to promote technological cooperation and wider access to artificial intelligence. While the initiative offers benefits such as shared innovation and reduced technological dependence, it also presents challenges for India, particularly concerning strategic autonomy, cybersecurity and technological dependence. Table of Content What is the proposed… Continue reading BRICS Open-Source AI Community – Benefits & Challenges – Explained Pointwise

  Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would be implemented in all NDA-ruled States before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The announcement has renewed the debate on balancing equality and gender justice with religious freedom and cultural diversity, necessitating an examination of the arguments for and against UCC.… Continue reading Uniform Civil Code (UCC) – Arguments in favour & Against – Explained Pointwise

Calls for regulation of Artificial Intelligence has emerged stronger than ever with the recent rise in the cases of misuse of AI like proliferation of deepfakes. With the rapid advancement of AI and its potential impact on society, there is a growing consensus among experts that regulation is necessary to ensure responsible and ethical use… Continue reading Regulation of AI – Need & Challenges – Explained Pointwise

The 18th BRICS Summit, being hosted by India in New Delhi, brings together the expanded BRICS membership amid growing geopolitical and economic uncertainties. Under India’s theme of “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” the summit seeks to strengthen Global South cooperation and promote a more inclusive global order. India sees BRICS as a vital… Continue reading BRICS – Significance & Challenges – Explained Pointwise

Recently, the UN General Assembly adopted the “Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation” resolution, encouraging governments, educational institutions, international organisations and technology companies to consider equal-area map projections, such as Equal Earth, when accurately representing the relative size of continents is important. The non-binding resolution does not prohibit the use of the Mercator projection.… Continue reading UN’s ‘Correct the Map’ Resolution – Global Representation & Geopolitical Implications – Explained Pointwise

  Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three key sections of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), marking another milestone in strengthening India’s freight infrastructure. The development is expected to enhance logistics efficiency, reduce transit time and costs, and improve connectivity between industrial centres and major ports. Table of Content What is a Dedicated Freight… Continue reading Dedicated Freight Corridors – Objectives, Significance & Challenges – Explained Pointwise

  A recent major study of hospitalised patients across India has found that infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are more likely to be fatal and more expensive to treat than infections caused by drug-susceptible strains. Conducted by the ICMR’s AMR Surveillance Network across 20 tertiary-care hospitals, the study analysed data from nearly 1.6 lakh patients.… Continue reading Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in India – Explained Pointwise

India has just completed a decade of inflation targeting as a formal policy framework of the RBI. The RBI adopted the Inflation Targeting on the recommendations of the Urjit Patel Committee in 2016. Hence, there is a requirement for an elaborate review to examine the performance of this method. In this article, we will analyze… Continue reading Inflation Targeting in India – Effectiveness & Challenges – Explained Pointwise

  India’s latest GDP data has ignited controversy, with critics alleging that a sharp downward revision of the previous year’s base artificially inflated the growth figures. While the government defends updated methodologies, the opacity surrounding these revisions has intensified demands for greater transparency, reliability, and credibility in India’s national income statistics. Table of Content How… Continue reading India’s GDP Growth – Methodology & Concerns – Explained Pointwise