The Income Tax Department on Wednesday informed that it has enabled online filing of income tax return (ITR) form number 3 (ITR-3). Taxpayers who have business income, income from share trading (such as futures and options), or even investments in unlisted shares can now file ITR-3 through the e-filing ITR portal.

An individual or Hindu Undivided Family with a business or profession must use ITR-3. Company directors, those who invested in unlisted equity shares at any time during the financial year, along with income from other sources, partner income, salary or pension income, and house property income, can use this ITR form.

Taxpayers with income earned from capital gains or foreign assets, income classified as profits or gains from business or profession and those who are not eligible to file Form ITR-1 (Sahaj), ITR-2, or ITR-4 (Sugam) can use ITR-3.

The Indian stock market opened flat on Wednesday as global trade concerns lingered. Automobile stocks were the major laggards in domestic markets.

At 9.25 am, Nifty was up 22 points or 0.09 per cent at 24,843 and Sensex was up 64 points or 0.08 per cent at 81,402.

Broader markets was marginally higher as BSE MidCap gained 0.09 per cent and the BSE SmallCap advanced 0.33 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty auto were the biggest laggard losing 0.54 per cent. Realty, oil, and gas lost around 0.30 per cent. Media and metal were in the green, gaining around 0.30 per cent each.

On the technical front, the Nifty has taken support at its 100-day EMA and managed to close above the key 24,800 level. The formation of a bullish candlestick pattern, supported by strong volumes, reflects buying interest at lower levels, said analysts.

The Income Tax Department on Tuesday issued a clarification on the proposed Income Tax Bill 2025, saying the bill is only meant to simplify language and remove redundant or outdated provisions, and does not propose any change in tax rates.

The clarification came after several media reports and social media posts claimed that the new bill would alter Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax rates for certain categories of taxpayers.

Some reports even suggested that the existing tax exemptions on equity investments could be removed.

Revenue growth of India’s 18 largest states, which account for over 90 per cent of the gross state domestic product, is likely to witness a uptick at 7-9 per cent this fiscal to Rs 40 lakh crore, up against 6.6 per cent in last fiscal, a report said on Tuesday.

India is projected to see 6.4 per cent GDP growth in FY26 and FY27, with both numbers revised slightly upward, reflecting a more benign external environment than assumed in the April reference forecast, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook (WEO) report said on Tuesday.

The IMF revised upwards its outlook for India’s GDP growth for the current fiscal by 20 basis points (bps) to 6.4 per cent. The global agency also revised upwards its growth forecast for FY27 by 10 bps to 6.4 per cent.

The price of silver recorded a significant increase, while gold prices registered a modest decline on Tuesday.

Silver's price increased from Rs 1,12,984 to Rs 1,13,307 per kilogram, a Rs 323 increase, according to the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA).

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Tuesday launched the Sanchar Saathi mobile application in Hindi and 21 regional languages.

Originally launched in January 2025, the application allowed users to report suspicious communications, block or trace lost or stolen phones, and check for unauthorised mobile connections.

The application is now available on both Android and iOS platforms, empowering citizens across India with multilingual digital safety tools. Around 46 lakh users have already downloaded the application, an official statement said.

The average monthly net GST collection has risen by a robust 10.7 per cent to Rs 1,80,774 crore in the first quarter (April-June) of the current FY 2025-26, compared to the average monthly net GST collection of Rs 1,63,319 crore in the same quarter of the previous year, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Parliament on Tuesday.

The current consolidation phase in the market is like middle overs in cricket -- discipline and strategy -- where investors should not take risks but build the portfolio for a rally, a report said on Tuesday.

Investors should not increase equity portfolio allocation, and maintain 65 per cent allocation in large caps. As much as 35 per cent can be invested in mid- and small-caps, suggested Motilal Oswal Private Wealth in its report.

For investors currently under-allocated to equities, they could consider lump-sum investments in the hybrid category, and a staggered investment approach through SIPs or STPs would be more prudent for pure equity-oriented categories, the report added.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Limited on Tuesday reported a 10.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase in its net profit to Rs 2,924 crore for the June quarter (Q1 FY26), compared to Rs 2,650 crore in previous quarter (Q4 FY25).

On year-on-year (YoY) basis, it increased by 13.9 per cent from Rs 2,567 crore in year-ago period, according to its financial statement.