India has once again pushed back a contentious plan to limit major technology companies control of the nations digital payments system, extending a regulatory uncertainty that has weighed on the sector for years.The National Payments Corporation of India said on Tuesday it would extend the deadline for implementing a 30% cap on any individual apps share of transactions on the Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, the countrys ubiquitous digital payments network, to December 31, 2026.The decision provides temporary relief to Walmart-backed PhonePe and Google Pay, which together handle more than 85% of transactions on UPI. The network, which processes over 13 billion transactions monthly, has become the backbone of Indias digital economy since its launch eight years ago.The regulator, which operates under the supervision of Indias central bank and is backed by more than 50 retail banks, has struggled to find ways to implement the market share restrictions without disrupting service for hundreds of millions of Indians who rely on these payment apps daily.On Tuesday, India also lifted restrictions on WhatsApps mobile payments service, letting the Meta-owned instant messaging app roll out WhatsApp Pay to all its 500 million-plus users in the South Asian market. Throughout this year, officials held extensive discussions with industry leaders about ways to enforce the caps, but found no feasible solution that wouldnt risk disrupting the consumer experience, according to people familiar with the discussions.Earlier this year an Indian parliamentary panel urged the government to support the growth of domestic fintech players that can provide alternatives to PhonePe and Google Pay.The market share limits were first proposed in 2020, with an initial deadline that was later pushed to 2025. Tuesdays decision marks another delay in Indias efforts to check the growing power of global technology giants in its booming digital economy.For PhonePe, which controls nearly half of Indias digital payments market, the extension provides crucial clarity as it weighs plans for an initial public offering. The companys top executive had previously cited the regulatory uncertainty around market share caps as a key obstacle to their IPO timeline.The UPI network, which facilitates interoperability among different payment apps and banks, has become the most popular way Indians transact online, used for everything from street vendor payments to taxi fares.