Trump Intensifies Iran Conflict Stance, Gold Prices Fall, UPI Achieves Record Transactions, Artemis II Launch, and Additional Updates
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US President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel in a televised speech from the White House, highlighting the escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
On Thursday (April 2), gold and silver prices experienced a sharp decline, with COMEX gold falling 2.21% to $4,677 per ounce and silver decreasing 4.22% to $72.87 per ounce, influenced by strong dollar demand and persistent geopolitical uncertainties.
Salaried taxpayers may receive slight tax relief as the government enhances house rent allowance (HRA) benefits while enforcing stricter compliance measures under the newly enacted Income-tax Rules, 2026.
India’s real-time payments network, the National Payments Corporation of India, reported unprecedented activity on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in March 2026, with total transactions hitting 22.64 billion, marking the highest monthly volume recorded.
A number of mid-sized lenders reported consistent business growth in the March quarter, with both advances and deposits increasing in double digits compared to the previous year.
On Wednesday (US Time), NASA launched its Artemis II mission, embarking on a historic journey around the Moon for the first time in decades. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, carrying the Orion spacecraft, lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 PM EDT.
Futures on Wall Street, which had been in a wait-and-watch stance before US President Donald Trump’s address, fell sharply after he did not provide a timeline for de-escalation regarding the ongoing conflict in Iran, while threatening further military actions in the upcoming weeks.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), part of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, conducted a time-bound Special Campaign from March 1st to 31st, 2026, for the swift issuance of Export Obligation Discharge Certificates (EODCs) under the Advance Authorisation (AA) and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Schemes.
India has imposed restrictions on the import of gold and other precious metal jewelry from ASEAN countries, which were previously on the “free” import list. Jewelry containing pearls, diamonds, and other precious materials will now require a license for import, except for units within SEZs and Export Oriented Units.
US President Donald Trump took to social media to criticize birthright citizenship, declaring that the US is “the only country… stupid enough” to allow it, as he headed to the Supreme Court for a significant hearing on the matter.
Data indicates a more complex reality: although startup activity is extending beyond metropolitan areas, the capacity to scale, attract significant funding, and achieve meaningful exits remains concentrated in established ecosystems like Bengaluru, the National Capital Region, and Mumbai.
