China has announced a fresh 34 per cent tariff on all US goods, effective April 10, in direct retaliation to President Donald Trump’s latest wave of trade duties. The announcement, made by China’s Finance Ministry on Friday, marks a sharp escalation in the ongoing trade standoff between the world’s two largest economies.

In a parallel move, China will also impose export controls on several key medium and heavy rare-earth elements, such as samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium, starting April 4.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, on Friday announced that the party would soon move the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Bill. The Bill was tabled and passed in the Rajya Sabha in the early hours of Friday.

Taking to X, he wrote, “The INC will very soon be challenging in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. We are confident and will continue to resist all assaults of the Modi Govt on the principles, provisions, and practices that are contained in the Constitution of India.”

Nifty Pharma index slipped 4.2 per cent, logging an intra-day low at 20,521.70. The fall came amid reports that US President Donald Trump is looking for possible tariffs on pharmaceutical goods.

Around 10:01 AM, all 20 Nifty Pharma constituents traded in the red. Among others, Aurobindo Pharma was down 6.25 per cent, Ipca Laboratories slipped 5.59 per cent, Lupin 5.35 per cent, Laurus Labs and Biocon were down 5.05 per cent each.

Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Friday said that if the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 is challenged, the judiciary may declare it "unconstitutional."

"They have misused the majority and the bill has been imposed. If the bill is challenged, there is a big chance that the judiciary will declare it unconstitutional," Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

Veteran actor and filmmaker Manoj Kumar died on Friday at Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. He was 87.

News reports state that he died due to cardiogenic shock caused by an acute myocardial infarction. Kumar had also been battling decompensated liver cirrhosis for several months, which had significantly impacted his health. He was admitted to the hospital on 21 February following a deterioration in his condition, news agency ANI reported.

Delhi residents woke up to clear skies and pleasant weather on Friday morning as summer officially begins in India. The national capital recorded its highest temperature of the season so far at 39 degrees Celsius on April 4, five notches above normal, according to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). The second-highest temperature was noted on March 26, when the mercury reached 38.9 degrees Celsius, according to the data from the weather department.

India's central bank will cut rates three more times this year by 75 basis points as the economy's growth outlook worsens due to import tariffs imposed by the United States, according to Citibank economists.

Citibank's latest forecast means it expects a total of 100 basis points in rate cuts for the year, in line with those predicted by JPMorgan and Nomura.

Hindustan Power on Thursday said it has secured a 425 MW solar project from Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL).

The Letter of Award (LoA) was issued by UPPCL following a competitive e-reverse auction, Hindustan Power said in a statement.

The Indian gems and jewellery industry expects US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 27 per cent tariff on imports from the country will be a “significant burden” and complicate the task of sustaining annual exports worth $10 billion to the US market.

The US earlier imposed no duty on imported cut and polished diamonds and rough lab-grown diamonds, 7 per cent duty on plain gold jewellery, 5.50 per cent on studded gold jewellery, and 5.5 per cent duty on platinum jewellery.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi strongly opposed the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, calling it a “brazen assault” on the Constitution. She spoke at the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) meeting in Delhi’s Samvidhan Sadan on Thursday.

“Yesterday, the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, was passed in the Lok Sabha, and today it is scheduled for the Rajya Sabha. The bill was, in effect, bulldozed through. Our party’s position is clear—the bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself. It is part of the BJP’s deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarisation,” she said.

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