Key financial changes from 1 May you must know:From flight ticket prices to new online gaming rules – here’s what can impact your pocket

From 1 May, 2026, several important financial changes may affect the daily lives of common man. These updates range from the probable changes in flight ticket prices prices to new online gaming laws. Lets see what are those: Flight ticket prices: Airlines may see new prices for Aviation Turbine Fuel. Since fuel accounts for around 40% of an airline’s operational expenses, any hike on 1 May could lead to flight ticket prices, making travel more expensive. Earlier, the country’s largest airlines like Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet had told the government that the airline industry was under extreme stress and on the verge of ‘stopping operations’. These airlines had sought a revision in ATF pricing and financial support. The airlines had also sought temporary deferment of excise duty on ATF, which is at 11%, currently. Earlier, the government, in consultation with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, had directed Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to limit the increase for domestic airlines to just 25%, equivalent to a modest ₹15 per litre hike, but, for international operations, the price rose by ₹73 per litre. Because there is an unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices and exorbitant differences between crude and ATF prices, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the civil aviation ministry, seeking steps to have uniform fuel pricing mechanism for both domestic and international flights. On Thursday, 30 April, 2026, Brent crude oil breached the $126 a barrel mark in global markets – which is the highest level seen ever since the Iran war began on 28 February. While, ATF prices in Delhi currently stand at ₹1,04,927 per kilolitre. LPG (Cooking Gas): New prices for 14.2 kg domestic cylinders and 19 kg commercial cylinders may be announced on 1 May. Following global market trends arising out of the West Asia conflict, prices are expected to see a revision. Even a small change would directly impact the monthly kitchen budget for lakhs of families. The Central Government had increased the price of domestic LPG cylinders by ₹60 nearly two months ago. In Delhi, a 14.2 kg cylinder currently costs ₹913. Under the new rules, gaming companies have been given major relief as the validity of certificates has been doubled. IT Secretary S. Krishnan said the government has adopted a light-touch regulatory approach for the gaming industry so that startups and developers are not burdened unnecessarily. Certificate validity increased from 5 to 10 years The biggest change under the new rules relates to the certification of online games. Now, the validity of the certificate granted to any game will be 10 years instead of 5 years.
This will spare game developers from going through the renewal process repeatedly. The government believes this will promote ease of doing business. No registration required for games without real money According to the IT Secretary, S. Krishnan, games that do not involve real-money transactions will not be required to register. Krishnan had said most non-real-money games can operate without any registration.
However, games played at a large scale or those involving financial transactions will have to register when notified. Games will be classified in three ways The authority has set three routes for classifying games: Suo moto: The authority can review and classify a game on its own. E-sports bodies: Institutions related to e-sports can apply themselves. Central government: The government can notify specific social games. A 90-day timeline has been set to complete the classification process for any game. Enhanced user safety The government has made a two-tier grievance redressal system mandatory for the safety of gamers and to address their complaints.
Gaming platforms will also need to retain data and submit compliance reports periodically.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has also been included in the authority so that actions such as blocking games that violate the rules can be taken. Online Gaming – Old vs New Rules Stock brokers to give Sebi registration proof on social media handles Additionall, from 1 May,, financial institutions registered with Sebi, must display their registered name and Sebi registration number on their main page on their social media handles. Additionally, this is also required to be displayed at the beginning of every securities market-related content. This will help common man in two ways: Sebi rule will be binding on following entities: Asset Management Companies (AMCs) like stock brokers, mutual funds, depository participants like Zerodha, Groww, etc, Research Analysts (RAs), Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), Portfolio Managers (PMs), InvITs, REITs, etc Fund managing teams of these MFs undergo a rejig: According to Upstox, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company had issued an official notice entailing revision in the fund management teams of two of its schemes, ICICI Prudential Passive Multi-Asset Fund of Fund and ICICI Prudential Global Advantage Fund (FOF). These changes will be effective 1 May, 2026.