Passport fees, commercial LPG prices, Aadhaar update, ITR deadline: What changes from today

Several key financial and policy changes have taken effect from July 1, affecting households, businesses, taxpayers and banking customers.Commercial LPG cylinders have become significantly cheaper, offering relief to hotels, restaurants and other commercial users. A new law expanding rural wage employment has also come into force, while banks have introduced fresh conditions for credit card rewards and airport lounge access. Aadhaar users can now update their registered email address free of cost for a limited period, and the Reserve Bank of India has enforced stricter consumer protection norms to curb the mis-selling of financial products. In another major move, the Centre has removed temporary restrictions on the retail sale of petrol and diesel after reviewing the country's fuel supply situation.VB-G RAM G Act: 125-Day rural employment guarantee introducedThe Centre has replaced the previous rural employment framework with the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, which is now operational.The legislation raises the guaranteed wage employment period for eligible rural families from 100 days to 125 days in a financial year. The government has earmarked Rs 95,692.31 crore as an initial allocation to help states and Union Territories implement the programme without disruption. Workers holding existing e-KYC-verified job cards can continue using them until fresh employment cards are issued under the new scheme. Income Tax Return deadline nearsIndividuals required to file ITR-1 or ITR-2 for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) must complete the process by July 31, 2026.Delayed filing could result in additional charges, limit tax-related benefits available to eligible taxpayers and affect the carry-forward of certain losses to future assessment years.Meanwhile, the deadline for filing ITR-3 and ITR-4 has been moved a month to August 31, 2026. These forms are generally used by businesses, professionals, partnership firms, charitable trusts and certain other taxpayers.Free email updates in AadhaarPeople wishing to add or change the email address linked to their Aadhaar can now do so through the Aadhaar mobile application without paying any fee.The UIDAI has waived the earlier Rs 75 charge for the service till this year end, making it easier for users to keep their Aadhaar details updated online.Credit Card benefits revisedCustomers using select PhonePe SBI Credit Cards will see changes in how reward points are earned. The revised programme places limits on reward accumulation and excludes additional categories of transactions from earning reward points.Separately, HDFC Bank has linked complimentary domestic airport lounge access to customer spending. Cardholders will now have to spend at least Rs 60,000 during the previous calendar quarter to receive up to three complimentary lounge visits in the next quarter.Commercial LPG gets cheaperBusinesses using commercial cooking gas saw a reduction in operating costs after oil marketing companies cut the price of commercial LPG cylinders by Rs 183.50 in Delhi.Following the revision, a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder in Delhi is priced at Rs 2,930, while the 5-kg Free Trade LPG (FTL) cylinder now costs Rs 808.50, down by Rs 13. The price revision applies only to commercial cylinders, with domestic LPG cylinder rates remaining unchanged.