San Francisco Joining the top players hoping to launch a 5G smartphone in 2019, Chinese handset maker OnePlus has said that its first such commercial device, which could release in the first of next year, would be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset.

OnePlus will release a commercial 5G smartphone with carrier network EE in UK in 2019, the company’s CEO Pete Lau said on Wednesday at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit 2018 in Hawaii, US.

“OnePlus only makes flagship smartphones, and we believe that the Snapdragon 855 is the best and only choice. We are thrilled by its powerful performance and 5G capabilities,” Pete Lau said at the event.

Lau told CNET that OnePlus is expecting to launch the 5G phone by the end of May this year.

Since its establishment five years ago, OnePlus has only made flagship smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Series mobile platforms.

The company recently launched its latest flagship device – the OnePlus 6T, powered by the Snapdragon 845.

“We are proud to work with OnePlus to continue to bring breakthrough mobile experiences to consumers,” said Alex Katouzian, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“Snapdragon 855 is designed to deliver multi-gigabit 5G, industry leading AI and immersive extended reality (XR) ushering in a new decade of wireless experiences to come,” Katouzian said.

Samsung, which has already showcased its 5G device, is also planning to launch the device in the first half of 2019.

(IANS)

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) on Wednesday opened on a negative note during the morning session of the trade.

The Sensex of the BSE opened at 36,035.65, then touched a high of 36,048.65 and a low of 35,916.55 points.

It is trading at 35,968.13 down by 166.18 points or 0.49 per cent from its Tuesday’s close at 36,134.31.

On the other hand, the broader 50-scrip Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 10,820.45 after closing at 10,869.50 points.

The Nifty is trading at 10,818.15 in the morning.

 Commending the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for remaining free from any major controversy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the investigative agencies are supposed to be faceless.

Investigative agencies should resist the temptation of going to the media “making a lot of song and dance” when the initial investigation starts and when some haul takes place, Jaitley said addressing DRI officials on its 61st Foundation Day.

“But they must as professionals concentrate on strengthening the investigative processes and the investigative evidences, and therefore have to ensure that what is being investigated ultimately results in penalties and convictions.

“That is the real test of an investigative agency. It has be faceless. The lesser it is in the media controversy or the news, the better it is for it,” the Minister said, adding the DRI has to endeavour to become a near-perfect organisation.

Jaitley said among the cross-section of various investigative agencies including the police and other specialised investigative agencies, “it goes to the credit of the DRI that by and large it has remained free from any collateral controversies”.

The DRI has concentrated on its core area of competence and developed expertise in areas where it is primarily supposed to check any harm being done to the country, economy and the national security, he said commending the DRI officials.

The Minister appreciated the agency for honouring some of its officials including former Additional Commissioner L.D. Arora who made the supreme sacrifice and two former Director Generals who laid down the work and organisational culture of the DRI.

“L.D. Arora became a target of the underworld because of his excellence in the investigative record that he had,” Jaitley said.

Arora, who was posted as Additional Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) of Mumbai Customs, was killed in 1993 at Allahabad by the underworld.

The DRI is an intelligence and investigative agency for matters relating to violation of the Customs Act. It works to secure India’s national and economic security by preventing smuggling of contraband such as firearms, gold, narcotics and fake Indian currency notes.

 The RBI is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at its
penultimate monetary policy review of the fiscal on Wednesday at a time when inflation – the
central bank’s key concern – has softened, as has GDP growth, according to the figures
for the second quarter ending in September.

At its previous bi-monthly review in October, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC) held its repo, or short term lending rate, unchanged at 6.5 per cent
in a context of rising crude oil prices posing an inflationary risk as well as a weakening
rupee.

Official data earlier showed that the consumer price index (CPI), or retail inflation in
October, fell to its lowest in a year at 3.31 per cent owing to lower food inflation, from 3.7 per cent in the previous month.

Besides, from the depths it had plunged, the rupee has since appreciated to a level of just over 70 to the US dollar.

Moreover, global crude oil prices have softened sharply from $86 per barrel in October to
currrent levels of around $60 amidst reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia have reached a deal to cut output so as to shore up falling prices.

Meanwhile, official data on November 30 showed the pace of India’s GDP growth slowed
during the July-September quarter to 7.1 per cent, from 8.2 per cent in the previous one,
mainly on the back of a drop in manufacturing, agriculture and mining.

“RBI may get the much needed elbow room to keep the policy rate unchanged in the
forthcoming bi monthly policy review on December, 5,” said US rating agency Fitch Group subsidiary India Ratings and Research Chief Economist Devendra Kumar Pant.

“Based on the September quarter GDP growth and likelihood of lower growth in the second
half of the year, chances of fiscal slippage are very high. The central bank is expected to
stay on hold,” he added.

Belying market expectations of a rate hike in October, the RBI held its repo rate unchanged
in the context of an uncertain global economic scenario but turned hawkish in its stance,
moving to one of calibrated tightening from the ‘neutral’ it has maintained over its six
previous policy reviews.

Elaborating on the change of stance to “calibrated tightening”, RBI Governor Urjit Patel said that it implied that “in this cycle, a rate cut is out of the table and we are
not bound to increase rates every time we meet.

“With this stance we have two options, we can either increase rates or hold them,” he said.
A “neutral” stance allows the RBI to move either way on rates.

On the decision to hold the repo rate, Patel said that “actual inflation outcomes, especially
in August, were below projections as the expected seasonal increase in food prices did not
materialise and inflation excluding food and fuel moderated”.

The RBI has lowered its inflation projection for the July-September quarter to 4.0 per cent,
and between 3.9-4.5 per cent for the second half of the fiscal “with risks somewhat to the
upside”.

India’s budgetary fiscal deficit for the April-October period at Rs 6.49 lakh crore has exceeded the target for the full fiscal, accounting for 103.9 per cent of the budgeted target of Rs 6.24 lakh crore, mainly owing to slow revenue growth.

The RBI’s policy review is coming at a time of slowdown in growth and private investment, and soon after the ongoing liquidity crunch has provoked a tiff between the government and the central bank.

The government’s differences with the RBI centres on four issues – the former wants liquidity support to head off any credit freeze risk, a relaxation in capital requirements for lenders, relaxing the prompt corrective action (PCA) rules for banks struggling with accumulated non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, and support for micro, small and medium enterprises.

The current liquidity crunch, particularly among non-banking finance companies, follows a series of defaults last month by the privately-run Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services and banks hesitating to lend after a series of scams, most notably the Rs 14,000 crore fraud on state-run Punjab National Bank reported in February.

IANS

 Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said trading across borders has become an “economic imperative of our times” and it is in every nation’s interest to bring down the trade barriers for the global economy.

“No nation can produce all products. It cannot specialise in all forms of services and therefore trading across barriers of nations is an economic imperative of our times and this is going to increase with times to come,” Jaitley said at an event here.

Addressing the 80th Session of the Policy Commission of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) through video conference, he said nations have realised that increase in trade gives impetus to the global economy as he advocated free trade.

“It is in the larger interest of every country to make sure that trade barriers are brought down to the extent possible,” he said at a time when protectionism is on the rise fuelled by the trade war initiated by the US against China and with the latter’s retaliation.

Jaitley said trade barriers have a significant impact on transactional costs for all transactions and any delay either due to lack of infrastructure or on account of terms and procedures adds to the cost thereby taking away the competitiveness of that trade.

“Domestic economy itself starts suffering and therefore it is in the larger interest of each economy globally to make sure that trading across customs, trade barriers of nations is facilitated to the largest extent possible,” he said.

He said countries have invested a lot in improving upon infrastructure including ports, airports and roads, and that India has been in the forefront of increasing its own capacities.

“This is reflected from the fact that in the last four years our ranking in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business has moved from 142 to 77, a record movement of 65 position. On facilitating global trade, India’s rank has improved from 140 to 80 among 190 countries.

“India remains committed as far as improvements in trade facilitations and facilitating trading across barriers is concerned,” he said.

He expressed hope that the three-day 80th Session of the Policy Commission will be of great utility for facilitating global trade.

Hosted by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, the session on various topics including trade facilitation is being attended by delegates from 33 countries.

IANS

 The government on Monday said nearly 94 per cent of the total GST refund claims of Rs 97,202 crore has been settled by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and the state authorities.

“Total GST refunds to the tune of Rs 91,149 crore have been disposed by CBIC and state authorities out of the total refund claims of Rs 97,202 crore received so far. Thus, the disposal rate of 93.77 per cent has been achieved,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

It said the pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund claims of Rs 6,053 crore are being expeditiously processed so as to provide relief to eligible claimants. Refund claims without any deficiency are being cleared expeditiously, it said.

In case of integrated GST (IGST) refunds, about 95 per cent or Rs 48,455 crore of the total IGST refund claims of Rs 50,928 crore transmitted to Customs from GSTN as on November 28 have been disposed of.

“The remaining claims amounting to Rs. 2,473 crore are held up on account of various deficiencies which have been communicated to exporters for remedial action,” it said.

Further, in case of Input Tax Credit (ITC) and other refund claims, of the total refund claims of Rs 46,274 crore received in the jurisdictional tax offices, the pendency as on December 3 is Rs 902 crore with the Centre and Rs 2,678 crore with states.

Provisional or final order has been issued in case of refunds amounting to Rs 37,406 crore. In claims amounting to Rs 5,288 crore, deficiency memos have been issued by respective GST authorities, it said.

The Ministry added efforts are being made continuously to clear all the pending refund claims, where ever requisite information is provided and found eligible.

It sought cooperation of the exporter community to ensure that they respond to the deficiency memos and errors communicated by Centre and state GST as well as customs authorities and also exercise due diligence while filing returns and shipping bills.

IANS

 The Pentagon will begin sending a backlog of thousands of green-card holders to recruit training, suspending a policy adopted by President Donald Trump’s administration that required more-stringent background checks for some immigrants wanting to serve.

The policy called for green-card holders to submit to and complete a full background check and respond to any concerns before they could go to boot camp which was in addition to standard requirements for green-card applicants, such as biometrics screening, reports The Washington Post.

The change put thousands of people in limbo, as their screening languished and specific jobs within the military promised to them slipped away.

The new directive issued on Monday says that each armed service must comply immediately with a preliminary injunction issued last month in the District Court for the Northern District of California.

Air Force Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the services will begin sending the recruits to training this week and will be placed in available slots.

About 18,000 US troops were green-card holders at the beginning of the Trump administration, and about 5,000 joined the military each year before the stricter policy, Pentagon officials have said.

The Marine Corps sent 1,044 green-card holders to recruit training in 2016 and 1,169 in 2017, but the number dropped to 808 in the most recent fiscal year ending in September, according to Pentagon data.

The Air Force sent 567 green-card holders to recruit training in 2016 and 590 in 2017. But that number dropped to 44 in the fiscal year ending in September. About 470 green-card holders are under contract and waiting to attend training.

The Army sent 4,600 green-card holders to recruit training in 2016, and 3,600 in 2017, according to data provided by the Pentagon. That number plummeted to 513 in 2018.

IANS

 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Monday came out with a cyber security framework for stock brokers and depositories.

The guidelines would come into force on April 1, 2019, SEBI said in a circular.

“As part of the operational risk management framework to manage risk to systems, networks and databases from cyber attacks and threats, stock brokers/depository participants should formulate a comprehensive cyber security and cyber resilience policy document encompassing the framework,” the circular said.

In case of deviations from the suggested framework, reasons for such deviations, technical or otherwise, should be provided in the policy document, it added.

As per the guidelines, stock brokers or depository participants should designate a senior official or management personnel whose function would be to assess and identify cyber security risks, respond to incidents, establish appropriate standards and controls.

The board or proprietors of the stock brokers or depository participants would have to constitute an internal “technology committee” comprising experts, which would, on a half-yearly basis review the implementation of the cyber security and cyber resilience policy of the organisation.

It also said: “No person by virtue of rank or position should have any intrinsic right to access confidential data, applications, system resources or facilities.”

Any access to systems, applications, networks, databases and so on, should be for a defined purpose and for a defined period, the regulator added.

“All critical systems of the stock broker/depository participant accessible over the Internet should have two-factor security (such as VPNs, Firewall controls etc).”

It mandated the brokers and depositories to ensure that records of user access to critical systems, wherever possible, are uniquely identified and logged for audit and review purposes and also ordered for storing logs in a secure location for at least two years.

The guidelines further said that physical access to the critical systems should be restricted only to authorised officials.

For algorithmic trading facilities, SEBI ordered that adequate measures should be taken to isolate and secure the perimeter and connectivity to the servers running algorithmic trading applications.

“Critical data must be identified and encrypted in motion and at rest by using strong encryption methods,” the circular said.

IANS

Jet Airways cancelled at least 14 flights to various destinations on Sunday after some of its pilots reported “sick” over non-payment of their dues, sources said.

The loss-making private carrier has been defaulting on salary disbursement to its senior management along with pilots and engineer since August due to severe cash crunch.

The airline has partially paid to these staff for September while the full salaries of October and November also remain unpaid.

“At least 14 flights have been cancelled so far due to some pilots reporting sick. They are protesting against non-payment of salary, dues and the indifferent attitude of the National Aviator’s Guild (NAG) in taking up the issue with the management,” the source said.

The NAG is a domestic pilots body of Jet Airways, representing over 1,000 pilots.

The airline said in a statement the flights were cancelled due to an “unforeseen operational circumstance, and not pilot non-cooperation”. It, however, did not give the number of flights cancelled.

Another source said, “Some of the pilots have also written to airline chairman Naresh Goyal, stating that they are unwilling to work in this manner.”

Jet Airways said the passengers of the affected flights were duly informed about their flight status via SMS alerts and they have been re-accommodated or compensated.

“The company continues to enjoy the complete support and cooperation of all its employees, including pilots and engineers, individually and through their respective representative bodies, who have extended their solidarity and full support to the airline,” the airline stated

The management is in regular dialogue with the pilots and other teams to discuss and resolve ongoing issues including disbursement of salaries, it added.

“As stated earlier, Jet Airways is committed to meet its obligations and has been progressively addressing this issue with the employees,” it said.

PTI

 The S&P BSE Sensex opened 200 points higher on Monday, in line with global markets on signs of easing US-China trade tension.

According to reports, China and the US agreed to halt additional tariffs in the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires over the weekend, pushing global stock markets higher.

Buying was witnessed in metal, IT and FMCG counters while healthcare scrips came under selling pressure.

Stocks of key sectors; finance and banking traded higher.

The Sensex of the BSE opened at 36,396.69 from its previous close at 36,194.30 on Friday.

At 9.26 a.m., the Sensex traded at 36,337.41 higher by 143.11 points or 0.40 per cent.

The Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 10,930.70 after closing at 10,876.75 on Friday.

The Nifty traded at 10,909.05 during the morning trade session, up 32.30 points and 0.30 per cent.

IANS