Long term capital gains reporting change allows simpler ITR filing for eligible salaried and presumptive taxpayers when gains fall within exemption.
All seven ITR forms for assessment year 2025 26 are notified. Salaried taxpayers and presumptive scheme taxpayers with long term capital gains from listed equities up to the statutory exemption threshold may file ITR 1 and ITR 4 respectively instead of ITR 2. The Schedule Capital Gains now requires splitting gains arising before and after July 23, 2024, and taxpayers holding property before that date may choose between the new lower LTCG regime without indexation or the earlier regime with indexation. ITR 3's Schedule AL threshold for assets and liabilities reporting is increased, easing disclosure requirements.

Bribery in tax administration prompts arrests and FIR alleging corrupt collusion to decide tax appeals.
Allegations concern bribery and corrupt collusion within the income-tax appellate process: a Commissioner is accused of receiving undue gratification through intermediaries to influence disposal of pending tax appeals in favour of a private corporate party; an FIR was registered against the officer and others, a trap captured an intermediary receiving payment, multi-city searches recovered cash, and the accused were produced before special courts.

Social security schemes expand affordable insurance and pension access with auto debit enrolment and digital claim settlement.
PMJJBY, PMSBY and APY are annual renewable social security schemes administered via insurers with bank/post office tie ups, implementing enrolment by auto debit within a 1 June-31 May cover year. PMJJBY provides life cover for ages 18-50 at a stated annual premium with pro rata options and a fixed death benefit; PMSBY offers accidental death and disability cover for ages 18-70 with tiered benefits and a minimal annual premium. APY grants a guaranteed pension from age 60 for eligible non taxpaying subscribers, with spouse succession and corpus return to nominee; digitised processes and government co contribution rules apply.

Operational and cybersecurity preparedness required for banks to ensure uninterrupted digital and physical banking services during crises.
The Finance Minister directed banks and insurers to maintain comprehensive operational and cybersecurity preparedness, including Anti DDoS systems, active SOC/NOC operations, mock disaster drills, regular cybersecurity audits, continuous firewalling and monitoring of data centres, and real time coordination and incident reporting to CERT In, the Reserve Bank and other agencies to ensure uninterrupted ATM cash, UPI and internet banking services and timely insurance claim settlements.

Climate finance taxonomy invites public comments to shape classification of climate-supportive and transition activities and sectoral annexes.
Draft framework for India's Climate Finance Taxonomy invites stakeholder submissions to establish a national classification system identifying activities, projects and measures as climate-supportive or transition-enabling, sets out objectives, principles and methodology for classification, and will underpin sectoral annexes detailing measures and projects considered climate-supportive or targeted for transition; comments are requested in a prescribed format via the designated email and will be considered in finalising the Framework.

Driver safety monitoring enhances compliance and protects drivers while improving fleet safety through real-time AI video analysis.
Eminent Transit will integrate Netradyne's Driver i to analyze 100% of driving time, provide real-time video intelligence to detect risky driving, support compliance and incident investigation, enable personalized driver coaching, protect passengers (including late-night female commuters), reduce harsh driving events, and safeguard drivers from false claims through contextual recorded evidence.

Cash seizure prompts detention of two individuals after a vehicle search; officials secured funds pending legal proceedings.
An Income Tax Department team intercepted a car near a toll plaza during a checking operation, found and counted Rs 50 lakh in cash on the spot, and detained two occupants for questioning; local police assisted while Income Tax officials assumed custody of the seized cash for further legal proceedings.

RRB amalgamation urged to secure sustainable rural banking operations and integration with sponsor banks by mandated deadline.
Secretary, DFS reviewed RRB performance and instructed accelerated implementation of One State-One RRB and the amalgamation process, directing sponsor banks to guide integration, technology upgradation, and HR resolution; complete integration by 30-09-2025 and draft a five-year roadmap to sustain rural lending in agriculture, MSME and government schemes.

Mortgage-backed Pass Through Certificates listed on national exchange after coupon discovery on EBP, enabling secondary market trading.
India's first Pass Through Certificates (PTC), structured by RMBS Development Company and backed by LIC Housing Finance housing loans, were listed in dematerialised, transferable form and admitted to secondary market trading. Coupon discovery occurred on the exchange's Electronic Book Provider (EBP) platform, the issue carried an AAA(SO) instrument rating, and the securities have an approximately twenty-year final maturity with a stated annual coupon.

Multilateral financial engagement: minister to lead delegation, speak on cross border resilience and hold strategic bilateral consultations.
The national finance minister will lead the official delegation to the Asian Development Bank annual governors' meeting, participate in Governors' Business and Plenary sessions, and speak on cross border collaboration for future resilience. On the sidelines, the minister will hold bilateral consultations with finance counterparts and senior officials of international financial institutions, meet think tanks and business leaders, engage with the expatriate community, and address an academic forum on balancing economic and climate resilience.

Advance tax monitoring urged to curb bogus exemption claims and strengthen collection of arrears and confirmed demands.
The central action plan directs monitoring of top advance tax payers to detect bogus exemption and deduction claims, encourages reassessment of advance liabilities, mandates sectoral and regional profiling to address negative revenue trends, and prioritises collection of arrear and current demands-including amounts confirmed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-while promoting taxpayer outreach, updated return filing, prompt refunds, and measures to reduce arrear levels.

ULIP tax benefits enable tax-advantaged life cover with flexible investments, withdrawals, riders and fund switching options.
A Unit Linked Insurance Plan combining substantial life cover with investment in equity, hybrid and debt funds offers flexible premium payment options, top-ups, unlimited free fund switching, post-lock-in withdrawal plans and optional riders for critical illness, accidental death, disability and hospitalization; two variants balance charge structures and coverage levels, and premiums and payouts receive tax treatment under income-tax provisions, subject to full policy terms, conditions and regulatory compliance.

ITR-3 updates: raised asset disclosure thresholds and new capital gains split rules change filing and deduction reporting.
Notification of ITR-3 for AY2025-26 updates filing requirements for individuals and HUFs with business or professional income by raising the Schedule AL asset liability disclosure threshold and requiring capital gains to be split based on whether they arose before or after July 23, 2024; taxpayers holding property before that date may elect a lower long term capital gains tax treatment without indexation or retain the indexation option. The form also adds deduction dropdowns and section wise TDS reporting to improve data accuracy and ease of filing.

Money laundering enforcement under PMLA sees expanded provisional attachments and prosecutions, emphasising evolving ML threats.
The Directorate of Enforcement reports intensified use of PMLA investigative and attachment powers in FY 2024-25, including a substantial increase in new investigations, more provisional attachment orders with higher aggregate asset value, the filing of numerous prosecution complaints progressing to trial, and court-approved restitutions. The ED highlights a high conviction ratio in decided cases and warns of evolving money-laundering methods such as cryptocurrency and hawala, urging adaptation of investigatory tools and techniques under PMLA.

Appointment of Secretary, Department of Revenue: senior IAS officer assumes charge following Appointments Committee approval and prior central finance roles.
Appointment of Secretary, Department of Revenue effected by executive decision: the Appointments Committee approved the selection and the appointee assumed charge. The appointee is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer with prior central roles in the Prime Minister's Office and Budget Division, state-level finance and urban development leadership, a managing directorship in an urban infrastructure finance corporation, and experience at a multilateral development bank.

Access to justice: Legal aid awareness must be sharp, tech driven and reach victims, witnesses and grassroots providers.
Access to justice and legal aid awareness must be delivered through concise, audience targeted outreach using modern media and grassroots engagement. Schemes should be conceptualised after consulting intended beneficiaries and frontline workers such as paralegal volunteers, and legal aid must extend support to victims and witnesses as well as accused persons. The National Legal Services Authority Act is identified as foundational to the country's legal aid framework, which requires effective implementation and measurable local penetration.

LTCG exemption threshold: simplified ITR eligibility expanded to allow small exempt gains to be reported on easier forms.
The government has notified ITR 1 (Sahaj) and ITR 4 (Sugam) for AY 2025 26, expanding eligibility so resident individuals and entities with total income up to Rs 50 lakh may use these simplified forms. Taxpayers with long term capital gains from listed shares and mutual funds up to Rs 1.25 lakh can file ITR 1 or ITR 4 instead of ITR 2; ITR 1 and ITR 4 now include sections to report exempt LTCG under Section 112A. Forms also update disclosure fields for certain deductions, require section wise TDS details, and retain queries on large foreign travel and electricity expenditures.

ITR eligibility expansion: salaried taxpayers with limited long term capital gains can use the simpler Sahaj or Sugam forms.
The tax authority has notified that resident individuals, HUFs and eligible firms within the prescribed total income limit may use simpler ITR-1 (Sahaj) or ITR-4 (Sugam) forms; Sahaj now permits limited long term capital gains from equity shares and equity oriented mutual funds provided such gains do not exceed the stated cap and there are no capital losses to carry forward or set off, while Sugam continues to serve eligible business and professional taxpayers within the income ceiling.

Statutory CAPEX data collection under the Collection of Statistics Act reveals private sector investment trends with confidentiality safeguards.
The National Statistical Office conducted a Forward Looking Survey under the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 to estimate private corporate sector CAPEX trends for recent years and intended spending, targeting large enterprises via a stratified census-plus-sample frame from MCA registers and using a secure web portal; results show rising gross fixed assets and elevated intended CAPEX for 2024 25 concentrated in machinery and manufacturing, while methodological caveats-moderate response rates, excluded SPVs, reporting errors, and respondent caution-mean findings are experimental and subject to refinement, with unit data remaining confidential.

Tax exemption granted to river cleaning authority, conditional on continued environmental conservation and public welfare purposes under tax law.
A tax exemption has been conferred on the National Mission for Clean Ganga, recognising it as an authority under the Environment (Protection) Act, with income tax exemption effective from the assessment year 2024-25. The exemption is conditioned on the entity continuing to operate as an authority with one or more specified purposes under the Income Tax Act, including promotion of sustainable development, conservation of the environment, and advancement of public welfare.