Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions touched a record high in March, with both value and volume hitting new peaks, driven by festive spending and financial year-end activity, according to PTI.Data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) showed that UPI transactions totalled Rs 29.53 lakh crore in value during March, up 19 per cent from Rs 24.77 lakh crore in the same month last year.On a month-on-month basis, transaction value rose 10 per cent from Rs 26.84 lakh crore recorded in February.In volume terms, UPI registered 22.64 billion transactions during the month, marking a 24 per cent increase from 18.3 billion transactions a year ago. The volume was 20.39 billion in February.Average daily transactions stood at 730 million, with an average daily value of Rs 95,243 crore, as spending picked up during festivals such as Holi and Eid.“The sustained growth in the digital payment ecosystem in India is an affirmation of the penetration of real-time payment systems in the day-to-day life of the people. UPI processed 22.64 billion transactions worth 29.53 lakh crore in March 2026, marking its emergence as one of the trusted payment systems in the country,” said Anand Kumar Bajaj, MD & CEO of PayNearby.UPI now accounts for around 85 per cent of all digital transactions in India and contributes nearly 50 per cent of global real-time digital payments.The platform is operational in seven countries, including the UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France and Mauritius, with its entry into France marking its first expansion into Europe.NPCI, an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks’ Association, operates UPI, enabling real-time peer-to-peer and merchant payments across the country.

Q: What was the genesis of ‘Maryam& Son’? A: I began to think about a person like Maryam many years ago. You know, 2016-17… you had the emergence of ISIS and the destruction of Iraq. In those times, you always heard of these people in the news... ‘so and so has fled to Iraq, to Syria to fight’. But that’s all you were given, there’s no other way of finding out anything else about these people… So I began to think more and more of their families… I began to think, who are those people? What are they like? And then I began to think of a middle-aged woman, has a personality, is a perfectly ordinary lower middle class working woman, of British Indian origin, has a decent life in that she’s made something of her life despite having had a setback. She’s raised her son, who she dotes on and loves, and then he goes missing… One of the things I was trying to do in the novel is that this is not the son’s story, this is Maryam’s story. This is not a story about radicalisation or indoctrination… I wanted to stay with Maryam and also explore aspects of her personality which have to do with her being a woman in London who has a life, has a mind, has her aspirations and longings and losses. Q: There were so many things you brought out about a young widow suddenly putin the spotlight. A: She’s also under a spotlight of her own making because now she’s beginning to see herself slightly suspiciously. So I wanted to explore that idea. What does surveillance do, but also what does being watched do? Who is the watcher in this dynamic? So ostensibly this person is watching her, but at some point she begins to watch herself… ‘Okay, what have I done all these years? Is that what I should have done, really? Is this who I am?’ And there is a bit of a slippery slope. Q: The character ofJulian becomes that voice in many people’s heads today questioning the magic of the digital world. A: The world of tech is so immense and so enormous and so overarching that often… we take things as they’re given to us. There’s very little room left for us to examine and question and scrutinise those things. How is it determined that all these things are good and correct and true?… What happens in our world is we are asked to consume these things as they are packaged somewhere else. Whether it’s an algorithm, whether it’s AI, whether it’s a tech boss, whether it’s a bunch of capitalists, whether it’s a few extremely hideously rich people, it’s all coming down to us from the top... In my generation or even subsequent generations, the danger was outside… Don’t mix with that kind of person, avoid those people… Now, we may keep our children safe indoors, but that danger has walked in, it’s behind the screen in so many various ways that there is no way we can keep an eye on it all the time. And it’s so deep, it’s a labyrinth. This has been on my mind as a parent, but also as person who lives in this time… How are children influenced, what are they turning into, because you cannot control it… There is a lot of influencing that happens on the internet. And when I say influencing, entire lives are shaped. So I did want to spend time on it in the novel and I did try to explore it. Okay, what if this person spent all his time online… She may have kept him safe… He’s not mixing with the bad boys, but the question in the novel is: what if I don’t close all those loops?… And we have seen it happen in our lives, in real time. Masses, large groups of people, influenced, transformed, radicalised, turned into something else or used for certain ends… We have seen it happen again and again, whether it’s India or South Asia or Pakistan or Britain or the West… Somebody is benefiting, whether it’s the corporate tech bro, somebody selling cars or miracle drugs, or somebody selling hate or prejudice or bigotry… Q: In today’s world, you’re not even considered to be an individual in existence unless you have a digital presence. And it’s such a strange space, especially for all of us who’ve known a life before this. A: It was simpler, but it was a nicer, softer, kinder world… I did want to look at the dark underbelly of the internet, but then I also don’t want to make the novel about that… I wanted to stay with Maryam, and I think I have stayed with Maryam. But I did want to look at this dark underside, which is dark but it’s not really underside. It’s everywhere.

US stock markets traded higher on Wednesday, tracking a global rally as easing oil prices and hopes of a potential end to the Iran war lifted investor sentiment, according to AP.The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, adding to its sharp gains from the previous session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 292 points, or 0.6%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1%, led by gains in technology stocks.The rally followed strong gains across global markets, with South Korea’s Kospi surging 8.4% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumping 5.2%, while key European indices in France, Germany and the United Kingdom rose more than 1%.Investor optimism was driven by comments from US President Donald Trump, who said Iran had “just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!” shortly before markets opened. “We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”Trump had also said earlier that the US military campaign could end within two to three weeks, adding to hopes of de-escalation. These remarks followed earlier signals, including a report quoting Iran’s president as saying the country has “the necessary will to end the war” under certain conditions, including guarantees against future aggression.Oil prices eased on these developments, with Brent crude trading at around $101.16 per barrel, down from recent highs but still significantly above pre-war levels of about $70.Despite the gains, markets remain volatile as the conflict continues to disrupt energy supplies. Iran maintains control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route through which about one-fifth of global oil flows during peacetime.US gasoline prices also rose further, with the national average reaching $4.06 per gallon, according to AAA.“The worry on Wall Street has been that the war may last a long time and keep oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf out of global markets, which could create a brutal blast of inflation,” the report said.Analysts cautioned that the impact of the conflict may persist even if hostilities ease.“De-escalation hopes have given markets a lift, but we think the effects of the war would, in many cases, persist even if the war did end soon,” said Thomas Mathews, head of markets, Asia Pacific at Capital Economics, AP quoted.“It’s worth thinking through how markets might fare if the war were to end ‘very soon’… Do markets have further to recover if sentiment continues to improve? The answer is almost certainly yes,” he added.On Wall Street, most stocks traded higher, with Big Tech leading gains. Alphabet rose 2.8% and Nvidia gained 0.8%, providing strong support to the S&P 500.Among other stocks, Nike dropped 13.1% despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit, as weak financial forecasts weighed on investor sentiment. Hasbro declined 3.6% after reporting unauthorised access to its computer network.In the bond market, US Treasury yields were largely stable. The 10-year yield edged up to 4.32% from 4.30% late Tuesday, supported by stronger-than-expected data on retail sales and manufacturing activity.The White House said President Trump is expected to address the public later in the day on the Iran war, a key event that markets will closely monitor for further direction.While equities have responded positively to ceasefire hopes, continued geopolitical tensions and elevated oil prices remain key risks for global markets and inflation outlook.

IndiGo on Wednesday announced that it will start levying revised fuel charges ranging from Rs 275 to Rs 10,000 on domestic and international flights from April 2, following the rise in jet fuel prices.The move comes as jet fuel prices for scheduled Indian airlines have risen by around 8.5% in April, though the increase has been lower than initially feared. The central government on Wednesday issued a clarification on the jet fuel price hike and capped the increase in ATF prices for domestic airlines at 25%.Citing tensions in the Middle East and closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered by US-Israeli strike on Iran, the Centre called it “only a partial and staggered increase”.With the higher fuel charges, airfares are set to rise for various domestic and international flights. The revised charges will be applicable from 0001 hours on April 2.The announcement from the country’s largest airline came on a day when aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices were revised.For domestic flights, depending on the distance, the revised fuel charges will range from Rs 275 to Rs 950.“With this clarity, IndiGo has also recalibrated its domestic fuel charge to vary by different travel distances,” the airline said in a statement.In the case of international flights, the fuel charges will vary from Rs 900 to Rs 10,000 depending on the distance.“For international operations, ATF prices have more than doubled in the last month, consequentially driving a significant impact on the airline’s operating costs on these routes,” the statement said.Although fully offsetting the fuel price increase would require substantial fare revisions, IndiGo said it has passed on a relatively smaller amount to customers, keeping in mind the consequential burden on them.From March 14, the airline has already been levying fuel charges ranging from Rs 425 to Rs 2,300 on domestic and international flight tickets.In Delhi, ATF now costs Rs 1,04,927 per kilolitre, up from Rs 96,638.14 last month. At the country’s second-busiest hub, the price has increased to Rs 98,247 from Rs 90,451.87.The relatively moderate hike is expected to help avoid a sharp increase in airfares for most passengers and comes as a relief for financially strained airlines as well as flyers.However, the impact has been far more severe for non-scheduled, ad hoc, and charter operators. For domestic flights in this segment, ATF prices have surged by about 115%, while international operations have seen an increase of roughly 107%.