E-Filing Portal Scales Up as ITR Rush Peaks

The finance ministry on Monday told Parliament that the income tax e-filing portal has been upgraded to handle up to one crore income tax return (ITR) filings a day, seeking to allay concerns over technical glitches during the ongoing peak filing season. In a written reply, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said ITR filings between July 8 and July 14 more than doubled year-on-year on several days, touching 12.22 lakh returns on July 14, while daily logins rose to nearly 99 lakh. Total daily transactions on the portal—including return filings, logins, challan generation and Form 26AS downloads—reached 1.61 crore on July 14, compared with 95.3 lakh a year earlier.

LTCG Mop-Up Jumps 79% to ₹1.29 Lakh Cr in AY26

The finance ministry on Monday told Parliament that revenue collections from long-term capital gains (LTCG) rose nearly 79% to ₹1.29 lakh crore in the assessment year (AY) 2025–26, and that the government is not considering any proposal to waive LTCG for domestic and retail investors. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, MoS for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Income Tax Department collected ₹1,29,158 crore under long-term capital gains tax in AY 2025–26, compared with ₹72,249 crore in AY 2024–25.

Centre’s Debt Eases to 58.2% of GDP

The Centre’s outstanding debt rose to ₹201.2 lakh crore at the end of 2025–26 from ₹121.8 lakh crore in 2020–21. However, as a percentage of GDP, debt declined to 58.2% in 2025–26 from 61.4% in 2020–21, MoS for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. This reflects “the ability of an expanding economy to support the levels of debt raised”, he said, adding that the government aims to maintain a fiscal deficit trajectory that ensures a declining debt-to-GDP ratio.

MSME Export Base Expands to 2 Lakh

The number of MSMEs exporting goods increased to 2 lakh in FY26 from 1.8 lakh in FY25 and 1.6 lakh in FY24, MoS for MSMEs Shobha Karandlaje told the Rajya Sabha. Export turnover grew 9% in FY26 compared with FY25, the minister said.

Coal Stocks Adequate: Govt

Sufficient coal is being supplied to thermal power plants to meet daily demand, MoS for Power Shripad Naik told the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Coal-based generation capacity stands at about 230.8 GW, accounting for 69.54% of electricity supplied between April and June 2026. Peak generation from such plants reached about 188.8 GW—around 75% of the total 251.4 GW—during non-solar peak demand hours. Scheduled maintenance of thermal units is planned in advance, factoring in demand across months.

1.42 Lakh MSMEs Shut Down During

Around 1.42 lakh micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) shut down during FY22–26, affecting employment of about 10.26 lakh people. During the same period, 774.1 lakh MSMEs were registered, employing around 35.31 crore people, MoS for MSMEs Shobha Karandlaje informed the Rajya Sabha. Enterprises may deregister for several reasons, including change in ownership, duplicate registrations, certificates no longer being required, or business closure.

Capex Jumps 5x to ₹64.7L Cr Since FY14

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Centre’s capital expenditure between FY14 and FY26 rose to ₹64.70 lakh crore, compared with ₹12.4 lakh crore in the decade to FY14. The capex outlay climbed to 3.2% of GDP in FY26 from 1.6% in FY14, she told the Lok Sabha. She said the government continues to prioritise effective capital expenditure, which includes both capex outlay and grants-in-aid to states for capital asset creation. Consequently, effective capex surged to ₹90.9 lakh crore between FY14 and FY26, from ₹17 lakh crore between FY04 and FY14.

Remittance Inflows Rise Despite West Asia War

Net private transfers—mainly remittances by Indians working overseas—rose 16.2% y-o-y to $144.8 billion in FY26, despite the ongoing West Asia conflict, Parliament was informed on Monday. Net transfers rose to $16 billion in April, up more than 70% from $9.4 billion a year earlier.

ITIs Jump to 13,856

The number of industrial training institutes (ITIs) has increased from 9,642 in 2014 to 13,856 in 2026, while enrolment rose from 9,51,168 in FY15 to 14,70,277 in FY26. MoS (Independent Charge) for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary informed the LS on Monday.