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UPI 'Tap & Pay' on POS allows users to make faster payments by unlocking NFC-enabled smartphone and tapping it on NFC-enabled Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal. It supports payments across multiple account types on UPI, including RuPay Credit Card on UPI. Users can make PIN-less transactions of up to ₹5,000, above which user needs to enter their UPI PIN on POS terminal.

Apple's first foldable iPhone, iPhone Duo, costs ₹2,99,900 (256GB) in India, around ₹1.1 lakh more than its US price of $1,999 (₹1.9 lakh). Indian prices include 18% GST, while US prices exclude state sales tax. The phone is reportedly being imported as a fully built unit, attracting customs duty, unlike iPhones assembled in India. Apple's own pricing strategy also contributes.

The Indian stock market benchmarks suffered strong losses in opening trade on Friday, mirroring a weak global trend. The BSE Sensex dropped 593.43 points or 0.79% to start the session at 74,309.16 while the Nifty opened with a fall of 207.50 points to 23,270.30. Investors lost about ₹6 lakh crore within the first five minutes of trade.

US President Donald Trump's administration has proposed doing away with the 60-day grace period, which allowed foreign workers, including H-1B workers, to stay in the US for two months after losing their jobs. This move is likely to affect Indians too. The Department of Homeland Security said companies could face disruption, but the jobs could go to American workers.

The rupee declined for a third straight session on Thursday as it weakened 0.3% to ₹95.44 per dollar. This was the steepest single-day loss in its value since mid-July, Reuters reported. The fall is attributed to surging oil prices due to escalating conflict in the Middle East and heightened dollar demand linked to derivative maturities and corporate hedging.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday launched a tap-and-pay option on UPI that lets users complete transactions by tapping smartphones at point-of-sale terminals without opening UPI app. The feature uses near-field communication (NFC) technology and is designed to work in areas with little or no network connectivity, NPCI's non-executive chairman Ajay Kumar Choudhary said.

PM Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on Friday, a day before the BRICS Summit. A video showed Modi and Putin hugging and shaking hands. A key focus of their talks will be enhancing bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, The Indian Express reported. Defence, civil nuclear ties and energy will be discussed, the report added.

The writing on aircraft of BRICS leaders who landed in Delhi has also drawn attention. Russian President Putin’s aircraft had “РОССИЯ”, Russian word for “Russia”, written on it. Chinese President, who is yet to arrive in India, usually travels on plane operated by Air China. Egypt’s presidential jet carries “ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT” across its fuselage, alongside its Arabic translation.

A NATO-funded publication on hybrid warfare cited work of two Indian Army veterans, Lt-Gen DS Hooda (Retd) and Lt Col Pavithran Rajan (Retd), at least 10 times. Their paper examined how modern warfare is shaped not just by military strength, but also by flow of information within societies/institutions. "Landmark achievement for Indian strategic thought," Ex-Army Chief General VK Singh said.

If a joint home-loan borrower dies during the loan tenure, lenders check whether borrower had purchased home-loan insurance, NDTV Profit reported. If covered, the insurer usually settles the outstanding loan amount, subject to the policy’s terms. If the co-borrower cannot repay, the lender may approach the guarantor, legal heirs or other family members to take over repayments, the report added.