Since I have soft copies of my returns, do I still need to keep hard copies of returns?

You are statutorily not required to maintain past dated returns but to be on the safer side it is advisable if you do. This helps you in handling any tax related dispute easily. Also when you apply for a loan or a visa to travel to certain countries, they ask for IT returns for the past 3-5 years. Of course, your e-filed returns will permanently available online. But for quick reference it is always preferable to keep a set of returns and acknowledgements printed and available offline in a folder. Make it a point to maintain at least the previous 10 years return and Form 26AS in a single place. Filing tax returns is a critical task for every individual. Keeping these simple points in mind will make your process of filing returns much smoother and simpler.