US President Donald Trump (PTI photo)

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled what he called the “Trump Gold Card,” announcing that people will be able to apply for Gold Card citizenship starting Wednesday afternoon.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump promoted the new immigration pathway, saying, “THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT’S TRUMP GOLD CARD IS HERE TODAY! A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent. Live Site opens in 30 minutes!”Speaking further about the initiative, Trump said, “Very excitingly for me and for the country, we’ve just launched the Trump Gold Card. The site goes up in about 30 minutes, and all funds go to the United States government… It’s somewhat like a green card, but with big advantages over a green card. Companies will be able to go to any school, buy a card, and keep that person in the United States… It’s a gift to get somebody great coming into our country, because we think there will be some tremendous people who otherwise wouldn’t have been allowed to stay. They graduate from college, they have to go back to India or China or France… The companies will be very happy. I know Apple is going to be happy. Nobody talked to me more about it than Tim Cook. He said it’s a real problem. And it’s not going to be a problem anymore… The other thing is it’ll take in, we think, probably billions of dollars that will go to the Treasury of the United States… Many billions of dollars, even.”Trump has previously spoken about a Gold Card–style visa program designed to attract wealthy or highly skilled foreign nationals. The broader objective has been to bring top talent and significant foreign investment into the United States by offering a faster pathway to residency.While full details of the newly announced Gold Card are still unclear, earlier proposals included substantial financial thresholds: individual applicants were expected to donate $1 million to the US Treasury, and corporate-sponsored applicants needed to contribute $2 million, in addition to a non-refundable $15,000 processing fee.A third tier, the Platinum Card, had also been proposed, allowing an individual to spend up to 270 days a year in the US without becoming subject to US tax on foreign income, in exchange for $5 million. It remains unclear whether this tier is part of the current rollout.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a significant $17.5 billion investment in India over four years, focusing on AI and cloud. He acknowledged India’s need for sovereign control and local resilience in technology deployment. Nadella lauded India’s unique “virtuous cycle” of policies, digital infrastructure, and market, highlighting the launch of Sovereign Public Cloud for enhanced governance and control.

NEW DELHI; As Microsoft invests $17.5 billion in India over the next four years into AI and cloud, the tech giant’s CEO Satya Nadella Wednesday said it was a “legitimate concern” of countries like India to talk about sovereign control and local resilience.Asked whether AI and tech prowess were increasingly being used as diplomacy tools and nations needed to build resilience and sovereign stack, Nadella said, “… it’s absolutely a very legitimate question and concern… and I would say a requirement. Which is for a country like India to say that ultimately things that are being deployed here, used here, at scale are effectively resilient and sovereign. In other words, you want to control your own destiny.“Reaffirming the tech giant’s commitment to India’s AI ambitions, the India-born CEO – delivering his keynote at the Microsoft Leadership Connection event – praised what he called a “virtuous cycle” created by the country’s tech policies, digital public infrastructure, and vast domestic market. “One thing India has done very uniquely is bring together a virtuous cycle from the policies, the programmes, the technology stack, and the market,” he said. “It’s tremendous to see the private sector fully participate, whether in payments, healthcare, or insurance. It’s not about any one thing. That entire stack is magic.”He added that with the Sovereign Public Cloud now available in India, organisations could tap into a prescriptive architecture for deploying workloads on Azure, supported by built-in compliance guardrails through Sovereign Landing Zones. This, he said, enabled policy enforcement and provided stronger governance controls.On the company’s India investment strategy, he said he was excited about the data centre capacity it was setting up, adding he had discussed the plans with PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday. “We’re thrilled about all the data ce-ntre capacity that is coming live. We already have stuff in Pune, Chennai and Mumbai. We are very excited about our India South Central cloud region, based in Hyderabad, that’s going to come up next year,” Nadella said.

US stock market today: US equities showed little movement Wednesday morning as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement. S&P 500 edged down 0.1% but stayed close to its record levels, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained unchanged and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%. Treasury yields also showed little change as traders prepared for the Fed’s decision, reported AP.Before the market opened, S&P 500 and Dow futures dipped slightly, under 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures decreased by a similar margin. Market participants widely expect the Fed to reduce its main interest rate for the third time this year in a bid to support employment. Attention is also focused on signals about rate moves in 2026, with many anticipating a more cautious approach to future cuts.Several companies experienced notable premarket activity. Cracker Barrel dropped 8% after reporting a 4.7% decline in same-store sales for the first quarter and lowering full-year revenue guidance following an unsuccessful effort to update its branding and restaurants.PepsiCo climbed 1.4% after unveiling plans to reduce prices and remove almost 20% of its product lineup under an agreement with an activist investor. The company intends to redirect the savings toward marketing and enhancing value for consumers. GameStop lost nearly 7%, even after surpassing profit expectations, as revenue came in below forecasts, reported AP.Oracle, a major player in the AI industry, is scheduled to release its quarterly results after trading hours. Despite shares rising more than 30% this year, they have fallen by a similar magnitude since early September amid concerns over cash flow from its AI investments.Global markets displayed mixed results. In Europe, the CAC 40 in France fell 0.4%, Germany’s DAX declined 0.5%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 decreased 0.1% to 50,602.80, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.1% to 8,579.40, and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2% to 4,135.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4% to 25,540.78, Shanghai’s Composite slipped 0.2% to 3,900.50, and Taiwan’s Taiex surged 0.8%.In commodities, US crude oil fell 30 cents to $58.55 a barrel, while Brent crude declined 26 cents to $62.20 a barrel. Silver reached a new high, trading above $60 per ounce.Investors are now closely monitoring the Fed’s announcement, weighing the potential benefits of lower interest rates against the risk of higher inflation, which continues to exceed the central bank’s 2% target.

Gold prices showed a mixed trend on Wednesday, with domestic futures inching up even as international rates dipped. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, February gold futures rose by Rs 173 to Rs 1,30,280 per 10 grams, while Comex gold for the same month traded marginally lower at $4,234.3 an ounce.Gold price in your city today:

Gold rate in Delhi today

In the national capital, 22K gold is currently priced at Rs 11,960 per gram, while 24K gold is selling at Rs 13,046 per gram.

Gold rate in Mumbai today

Mumbai is seeing 22K gold at Rs 11,945 per gram, and 24K gold available at Rs 13,031 per gram.

Gold rate in Bengaluru today

Bengaluru markets list 22K gold at Rs 11,945 per gram, whereas 24K gold is priced at Rs 13,031 per gram.

Gold rate in Chennai today

Chennai continues to record among the highest figures, with 22K gold marked at Rs 12,030 per gram and 24K gold at Rs 13,124 per gram.

Gold rate in Kolkata today

In Kolkata, 22K gold is being sold at Rs 11,945 per gram, while 24K gold is available at Rs 13,031 per gram.

Gold rate in Hyderabad today

In Hyderabad, 22K gold is priced at Rs 11,945 per gram, and 24K gold at Rs 13,031 per gram.

Gold rate in Ahmedabad today

Ahmedabad buyers are paying Rs 11,950 per gram for 22K gold and Rs 13,036 per gram for 24K gold.

Gold rate in Jaipur today

Jaipur has 22K gold priced at Rs 11,960 per gram, and 24K gold tagged at Rs 13,046 per gram.

Gold rate in Bhubaneswar today

In Bhubaneswar, 22K gold stands at Rs 11,945 per gram, while 24K gold is quoted at Rs 13,031 per gram.

Gold rate in Kanpur today

Kanpur’s market shows 22K gold at Rs 11,960 per gram, with 24K gold selling for Rs 13,046 per gram.

Elon Musk was recently asked if he believes in God. In an interview with Katie Miller on her podcast this week, the Tesla CEO said he believes “this universe came from something. People have different labels.” “Who do you look up to the most?,” asked Miller. To this, Musk replied saying “The Creator”. “What’s your position on God?,” Miller further stressed. The tech billionaire responded “God is the Creator.”

Miller’s next question was “You don’t believe in God though, do you?”. This time, Elon Musk said “Well, I believe this universe came from something. People have different labels.”

Musk says Trump is ‘funniest person I know in real life’

During the same interview, Elon Musk was asked whom he considers the funniest person he knows. Musk responded saying:“President Trump is the funniest person I know in real life. He’s got a great sense of humor. He’s naturally funny. It’s effortless. When he had Mamdani in the office and he told Mamdani to call him a fascist, that was awesome”.

Elon Musk on DOGE

Elon Musk spoke to Miller on a range of topics, including the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – Trump administration’s cost-cutting department then led by Musk. He said that DOGE was “somewhat successful’ in its mission when asked about DOGE’s success. “We were a little bit successful,” he said, adding “We were somewhat successful.”During the conversation, Musk said that “Department of Government Efficiency” was “a made-up name” that was “based on internet suggestions”.Talking about SpaceX Starship and his ambitious Mars Mission, Elon Musk said “It needs to be sustainably multi-planetary, so not just visiting, but actually multi-planetary in the sense that if you have planetary redundancy, so if there were to be a catastrophe on one of the planets, the other planet would survive. Starship is capable of doing that for the first time in history, and no AI was used to create it.”

IndiGo, commanding approximately 65% of India’s domestic aviation sector, has cancelled over 5,000 flights this month.

Fresh trouble for IndiGo? India’s largest airline by market share, IndiGo, may be in for more trouble after a week which saw thousands of flights being cancelled. India’s competition watchdog is considering launching an investigation into IndiGo to determine whether the airline violated competition laws, particularly regarding misuse of its dominant position to limit services or enforce unreasonable terms on travellers, according to a senior government representative.IndiGo, commanding approximately 65% of India’s domestic aviation sector, has cancelled over 5,000 flights this month due to an acute shortage of crew members, stemming from its inability to implement new pilot rest regulations. This disruption has affected thousands of passengers at airports nationwide during peak travel period. The airline’s operational requirements called for 2,422 captains, but it only had 2,357 available.

More trouble for IndiGo?

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ‘strong grounds’ for initiating an investigation, the official was quoted as saying by ET, whilst clarifying that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) remains at the helm of the broader government investigation into the IndiGo situation. The official indicated that the CCI is monitoring the situation closely and will soon decide whether to initiate an inquiry within its jurisdiction.Section 4 of the Competition Act prohibits a dominant enterprise from misusing its position by enforcing unjust or discriminatory conditions on goods or service transactions; or “limits or restricts” production or services; or subjects consumers to unfair or discriminatory conditions, amongst other provisions.

IndiGo issues

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a show-cause notice to IndiGo’s Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras on Saturday, requesting their response within 24 hours. On Monday, they informed the regulatory authority that determining the precise causes of the network disruption was not feasible within such a brief period, considering the airline’s extensive and intricate operations. The executives requested additional time for their response, referencing DGCA regulations that permit a 15-day window to address a show-cause notice.The antitrust regulator holds the authority to initiate investigations independently or based on complaints received from stakeholders, other parties, or referrals from central or state governments.When the CCI evaluates a case and identifies preliminary evidence of anti-competitive conduct by an organisation, it instructs its director general to conduct a detailed investigation and provide a report for subsequent action. The matter is closed if no initial evidence is discovered.Previously, IndiGo faced CCI scrutiny over alleged anti-competitive conduct. However, the antitrust regulator dismissed two cases against the airline – one in 2015 by an individual regarding unfair passenger conditions, and another in 2016 by Air India concerning predatory recruitment practices.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday pulled up the Centre over the chaos faced by air travellers amid disruptions at IndiGo, questioning why the government failed to prevent airfares from soaring to Rs 35,000–Rs 39,000 and what immediate measures were taken to assist stranded passengers. “Why did such a situation even precipitate? What steps were taken to assist passengers?” it asked.

“Question also is, if there was a crisis how can other airlines be permitted to take advantage? How can it go to 35-39k? How could other airlines start charging? How can it happen?” Live Law quoted Justice Gedela saying. The additional solicitor general told the court that a show-cause notice had already been served to the airline, which responded with a “profuse apology.” He further noted that implementation of the FDTL scheme had been delayed since 2024 due to the carrier’s repeated pleas for extensions and its continued assurances before the single-judge bench. The bench asked the government to explain the arrangements made to manage stranded travellers and prevent harassment at airports. “If they failed, what action did you take? You allowed the situation to reach this point,” it said. The IndiGo crisis drew the attention of both the Delhi high court and the Supreme Court against the backdrop of mounting frustration among air travellers after airlines cancelled hundreds of flights nationwide, triggering widespread disruption. The HC agreed to hear a plea on the matter after SC acknowledged the gravity of the situation, calling it a “serious matter,” even as it declined an urgent hearing. “It is a serious matter. Lakhs of people are stranded at the airports. We know that the government of India has taken timely action and cognisance of the issue,” CJI Surya Kant had said. IndiGo has come under sharp criticism from both the central government and travellers after it scrapped hundreds of flights since December 2, attributing the large-scale disruptions to changes in pilots’ flight duty and rest regulations. The cancellations have caused massive inconvenience, leaving lakhs of passengers stranded at airports nationwide.