UPI charges on recurring utility and subscription payments clarified

The record

Written from the 2 reports below. Nothing here is unsourced.

The government has announced a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charge of 0.4% on UPI transactions above ₹2,000, effective October 15.
Confusion arose among users about whether recurring payments like electricity bills, OTT subscriptions and mobile recharges would attract extra charges.
The government has clarified that no MDR charge will apply to automated recurring payments made through UPI Mandate or AutoPay.
Telephone recharges above ₹2,000 made via UPI to telecom companies like Jio and Airtel will also not attract the MDR charge.
For merchants, a ₹3,000 transaction will carry ₹12 as MDR, while transactions of ₹75,000 or above face a fixed cap of ₹300.

Whether the government clarifies which other payment categories are exempt from the MDR charge
How merchants and payment apps respond to the October 15 rollout of the charge

Every report on this story, newest first. Times are when each outlet published.

Who is affected first and what likely follows, with a direction and a horizon. Extracted from the reports, never invented.

UPI consumers cost clarity on recurring payments· immediate
Banks and payment processors new fee income from large p2m· weeks
Merchants and subscription platforms reduced operating costs for auto debit· immediate

2 reports

Indian-language2

All filed from IndiaSingle origin

Named India · Google Pay · Paytm · PhonePe · Government of India · UPI

The 2 reports are listed beside the record.

Answers cite the reports above, or say they can't.