A number of changes that will affect Indian consumers, salaried workers, and taxpayers will take effect on April 1st, the start of a new fiscal year.  Among other things, new income tax brackets and revised UPI standards will be implemented in the fiscal year 2025–2026 (FY26).

The following summarizes the main rule changes that will go into effect on April 1: 

New Income Tax Regulations

 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared in her Budget 2025 speech that anyone making up to Rs 12 lakh annually would not be subject to income tax.  With effect from April 1, salaried individuals will be eligible for a standard deduction of Rs 75,000 under the revised tax structure, which will essentially make a salary of Rs 12.75 lakh tax-free.

Change to the New Pension Scheme Rule

 The previous pension plan will be replaced with the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), which was unveiled by the government in August 2024.  About 23 lakh employees of the central government will be impacted by this development.  Workers who have worked for at least 25 years will be entitled for a pension that is equivalent to 50% of their average basic pay over the previous 12 months. 

 Changes to Credit Card Rules

 A number of banks are making changes to their credit card incentive programs.  The reward point system for the Air India SBI Platinum Credit Card and the SimplyCLICK SBI Card will undergo modifications.  The Vistara Credit Card perks will be updated by Axis Bank in the wake of the airline's merger with Air India.

Change to the UPI Rule

 Deactivating UPI associated with inactive numbers is one of the new security procedures for UPI transactions that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has put in place.  To prevent losing access, users who haven't used their mobile phone for UPI transactions in a long time must update their information with their bank by April 1.

 To reduce security threats, banks and third-party UPI providers like PhonePe and Google Pay must gradually phase out inactive numbers.

Bank Minimum Balance

 Starting on April 1, major banks such as Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, and State Bank of India (SBI) will update their minimum balance requirements.  Consumers risk fines if they don't keep the minimum balance. 

Changes to the GST Rule

 The following changes will be made to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system:  Mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): For increased security, taxpayers must complete MFA while logging into the GST portal.  Only base documents that are no more than 180 days old can be subject to E-Way Bill Restrictions.