Palghar: The process of distribution of land acquisition compensation for the Vadhvan Port Greenfield Highway Project has started, officials said on Wednesday.A meeting in this regard was held by District Collector Dr Indu Rani Jakhar.The compensation amount will be directly credited to the bank accounts of the landowners who have been asked to submit updated 7/12 extracts and mutation records.In cases where mutation entries are pending, village revenue officers have been directed to complete them on priority and special camps will be organized at Talathi offices and Gram Panchayat offices for this purpose, Jakhar said.The Collector appealed to landowners not to spend the compensation hastily, but to invest it in safe options such as new land, bank fixed deposits or post office savings schemes.Considering the increasing risk of cyber fraud, landowners have been advised not to share OTPs or bank details with anyone. Banks and the police department have been directed to conduct awareness campaigns in this regard.The Collector also appealed to landowners to avoid dealing through middlemen, agents, or brokers, and instead directly contact the competent authority or the Talathi office for all procedures.

Thane: A sessions court in Thane has convicted two men for the brutal murder of an octogenarian and his caretaker in a case dating back to 2016, bringing closure after nearly a decade-long trial. Additional sessions judge G G Bhansali convicted Prashant Sadashiv Pawar and Atendra, and sentenced them to life imprisonment for murder. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each and awarded additional rigorous imprisonment for offences of robbery and house trespass.According to the prosecution, the victims — Sitaram Vallabh Shroff (84) and his caretaker Santosh Raisingh Lavangare — were found murdered in their flat at Regency Heights on Ghodbunder Road on May 31, 2016. Both sustained multiple stab and incised injuries, pointing to a brutal assault. The case saw a breakthrough when CCTV footage captured Pawar — a former caretaker of Shroff — entering the building with Atendra. The court observed that although there were no eyewitnesses, the chain of circumstantial evidence was complete and conclusively established the role of both accused in the double murder.

MUMBAI: A 16-year-old girl narrowly escaped after her 21-year-old boyfriend attempted to kill her with a sickle and molested her outside her college in Mulund after she stopped speaking to him. Within 24 hours, police arrested the accused identified as Ashish Bansode, a resident of Badlapur under the Pocso Act. According to police, Bansode approached her from behind at college premises, and grabbed her by the neck. He then allegedly attempted to attack her. However, a male friend intervened, and the sickle struck the back of his neck, injuring him. Mulund Police registered a case of attempt to murder, and criminal intimidation. Police further revealed the accused had previous criminal cases registered against him, including an NDPS case and other criminal offences.

MUMBAI: The Indian Global Capability Center (GCC) of Deutsche Bank is betting on a startup-style approach to accelerate AI adoption, with its in-house incubator at Deutsche India Pvt Ltd (DIPL) drawing 100 ideas within its first 100 days, reflecting what its leadership describes as an unusually high openness to technological change among the local workforce.Stefan Schaffer, MD & CEO of DIPL, said the India-based GCC has seen employees embrace AI-led transformation with far less resistance than in many mature markets. He attributed this to a broader cultural association of change with progress, shaped by rapid digital adoption in India, including platforms such as UPI. He said that this adaptability is proving valuable for a 150-year-old institution navigating structural shifts.DIPL, which employs over 20,000 people across Pune, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Mumbai, is driving its AI push through a programme called “AI Forward”, which combines top-down investment with bottom-up participation. A key pillar is the incubator, modelled on startup ecosystems, where employees can pitch ideas directly to leadership and refine them with expert input. Complementing this is a large-scale training effort that has already covered 20,000 employees on large language models and responsible AI usage, alongside a “Catalyst” initiative that embeds specialists within teams to prototype solutions in live environments.The shift towards AI is part of a broader strategic reset at Deutsche Bank’s technology operations. Having already rebalanced its workforce mix from 30% internal staff to 70%, and increased the share of engineers to 70%, the bank is now targeting deeper ownership from its GCCs. Under a new “70-50-30” framework, it aims to locate 50% of portfolio owners and 30% of senior leadership roles within its technology centres, including India, to ensure end-to-end accountability.Schaffer said that while AI is becoming embedded in mainstream operations, core enterprise platforms will remain critical. Instead of replacing foundational systems, AI is expected to transform the “last mile” of configuration, enabling faster and more flexible development while retaining the structural integrity required in a regulated banking environment.

BENGALURU: India’s e-commerce and quick commerce sector is hiring again, but the playbook has changed. Talent demand rose 35% between 2023 and 2025 to nearly 98,750 roles, even as companies shifted from expansion-led hiring to building technology capability and execution strength, according to a CIEL HR report.The sharpest shift is in technology hiring. Demand for engineering roles has expanded more than threefold over the past two years, with companies prioritising solution architects, and AI and machine learning specialists. These roles are linked to investments in recommendation engines, chatbots, warehouse automation, and payments systems , the report said. Nearly half of incremental hiring is now concentrated in technology, product and operations, signalling a structural move away from customer acquisition-led hiring towards platform capability and fulfilment-led workforce design. Operational hiring remains critical as quick commerce expands into smaller cities. Demand in supply chain and fulfilment roles has risen 25%, with warehouse managers, fulfilment planners, city operations leads and inventory controllers forming the backbone of expansion. These roles are especially concentrated in tier-2 and tier-3 markets.

“India’s digital commerce sector is entering a new workforce phase where engineering depth, operational agility and execution precision are becoming the strongest indicators of business competitiveness,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, managing director and CEO, CIEL HR. “Organisations are designing talent models that combine specialised technology capability with highly responsive frontline execution.“At the frontline, gig work continues to anchor the sector. India’s gig workforce has crossed 12 million, with more than half engaged in delivery, dark-store fulfilment and hyperlocal logistics. The shift is also reflected in pay. AI and machine learning specialists are earning 30%-40% more than conventional tech roles.

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday backed reforming the World Trade Organisation but underlined the need to retain the core focus on poor and developing countries and a consensus-driven decision-making process.“The necessary reform of WTO should be carried out through a transparent, inclusive and member-driven process, keeping development at its core, upholding the foundational principles and objectives of the organisation, mainly non-discrimination, consensus-based decision making and equity. Special and differential treatment (S&DT) should be precise, effective and operational,” commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal said in his intervention at the ministerial meeting that kicked off on Thursday.While calling for past mandates given by members to be delivered, Goyal highlighted the need to get the dispute settlement mechanism going again. The US has blocked appointments to the appellate body, holding up the entire process of dispute resolution He also flagged his concern over the failure of the WTO membership to address concerns of poor countries that grow and export cotton, or India’s concerns over public stockholding, an issue that has been pending for 12 years now with ministers kicking the can down the road every time they meet. “…we must deliver on them on priority,” Goyal said at the meeting in Cameroon.India also thumbed down China’s push for an investment facilitation framework but did not make an explicit mention. Instead, Goyal said the incorporation of plurilateral outcomes into the WTO framework should be based on consensus and not impair existing rights of non-parties or cast additional obligations on them. A plurilateral agreement, which according to India needs to be cleared through consensus, means a group of countries can finalise a pact on an issue such as IT goods.Further, he suggested that India is not keen on continuing the customs waiver for e-commerce.

Mumbai: A new Mumbai Police SUV caught fire at Sakinaka in Andheri West on Thursday afternoon after smoke suddenly started emanating from the bonnet, police said. The exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. No one was injured, and police registered an accidental fire case.According to Sakinaka police, the vehicle was being used for patrolling duty and only the driver was inside when the incident occurred. As his mobile phone started ringing, he parked the vehicle by the roadside. At that moment, smoke began coming out from the bonnet and he immediately stepped out. Shortly after, the car caught fire and was engulfed in flames.The driver’s mobile phone, clothes and bag were destroyed in the fire.Police said the department recently introduced 633 new SUV vehicles, and this car was one of them.