Uttarakhand consumer commission ordered SBI to disburse ₹2-lakh insurance over "clear-cut" lapse in annual premium's deduction. SBI deducted the annual premium of ₹12 under PM Suraksha Bima Yojana from Kavita Devi's account for two years, but failed in the third, despite her account having ₹3,367 balance. SBI refused her husband's insurance claim after her death, citing the missed premium payment.

India's job market is witnessing a major transformation as companies increasingly shift from permanent hiring to contract-based employment, according to a TeamLease report. The rapid rise of AI, automation, and cost optimization is pushing businesses toward flexible workforce models. Experts believe the trend could significantly reshape career stability, hiring practices, and skill requirements.

Google has appealed a US judge's ruling that it holds illegal monopolies in online search and related advertising. The company argued that the court made legal errors in finding that its payments to firms including Apple to remain the default search engine blocked competition. Google said device makers were still free to promote rival services like Microsoft's Bing.

Xiaomi has officially launched the Xiaomi 17 Max in China, featuring a massive 8000mAh silicon-carbon battery, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, and a 200MP Leica camera setup. The flagship smartphone is aimed at power users and heavy gamers. With aggressive specifications and premium features, the device is expected to compete against Samsung, OnePlus, Vivo, and iQOO flagship phones.

In a major change, US administration announced that visitors to the US on temporary status must return to their home countries to apply for a Green Card. It's expected to have major implications for Indian applicants, particularly H-1B workers and professionals stuck in long employment-based Green Card backlogs. Indians often face wait times stretching years because of country-specific limits.

PM Narendra Modi's ex-advisor Surjit Bhalla said BJP's handling of the economy "hit a low" and creates the risk of India joining Turkey as a "Fragile Two" economy. BJP-led Centre recognises the problem but is "satisfied blaming others for the crisis", Bhalla claimed. Responding to him, CEA Anantha Nageswaran said Bhalla's claims contain "enough analytical ambiguity to warrant careful examination".

India's gold jewellery retail sector is expected to see its sharpest demand slowdown in a decade, a Crisil Ratings report showed. Sales volumes are projected to fall 13-15% this fiscal after an 8% drop last year, taking overall demand to its lowest level in 10 years, excluding the pandemic-hit year. The Centre recently raised customs duty on gold to 15%.

A user took to Reddit to share an image of a Vande Bharat Express train seemingly secured with a simple metal chain, sparking widespread discussion online. While many users mocked the contrast between the ₹115-crore high-tech train and a low-cost chain, railway enthusiasts clarified that the chain is actually a standard coupling safety mechanism used during maintenance and shunting operations.

Donald Trump's administration will require green card applicants to leave the US during the application process, prompting criticism from tech leaders. "It will hurt families, leave us with fewer doctors, teachers and scientists, and hurt American competitiveness in AI," said Coursera Co-founder Andrew Ng. The latest move is part of the Trump administration's efforts to curb illegal immigration.

Billionaire Joe Lonsdale reacted to Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow's "HR created problems that didn't exist" comment, revealing that he built software company Palantir without a human resources department. "I avoided Ryan's mistake...Going into the vast majority of companies and firing most of their HR...would tend to create value!" Lonsdale said. He added that he hired technical leaders for "PeopleOps".