New Delhi Chinese player Vivo on Thursday launched the 4BG vartiant of its “Y81” smartphone with fingerprint unlocking and “FullView” display 2.0 in India at Rs 13,490.

The 3GB variant of Vivo “Y81” was launched in June for Rs 11,390 with a 6.22-inch screen and fueled by MediaTek OctaCore (Helio P22) processor along with 3260 mAh battery, the company said in a statement.

“Y81” sports a 13MP rear and 5MP front camera with modes including HDR, portrait bokeh, Artificial Intelligent (AI)-face beauty, palm capture and group selfie.

Vivo has also announced festive offers on its other Y-Series smartphones including Y71i, Y83Pro, Y81 and the newly launched Y81 4GB variant.

“We want to continue the momentum and further enhance the customer experience by kick-starting the festive season with offers that add to the happiness to our consumers,” Jerome Chen, Chief Marketing Officer, Vivo India said in a statement.

As part of the offers, the company is bringing cashbacks, no cost EMI options and Jio vouchers and offers both, online and offline.

As part of the “Make in India” initiative, all these devices have been manufactured at Vivo’s Greater Noida facility, the company added.

(IANS)

 Apple displaced Google to become the top brand in the world in 2018 while Facebook, mired in data breach controversies, fell to ninth place in the top 100 brands globally, an annual report said on Thursday.

According to global brand consultancy Interbrand’s “Best 100 Global Brands 2018” report, Amazon achieved a 56 per cent growth to become the third top brand globally.

According to the ranking, Apple’s brand value grew 16 per cent (year-on-year) to $214.5 billion. It went on to become the first company in the US to hit the $1 trillion market cap.

“In second place, Google was up 10 per cent to $155.5 billion while Amazon is valued at $100.8 billion,” campaignlive.co.uk reported, citing the report findings.

Microsoft (valued at $92.7 billion) was fourth while Coca Cola (valued at $66.3 billion) came fifth followed by Samsung on sixth spot.

Facebook’s brand value has declined 6 per cent this year in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

“A decade after the global financial crisis, the brands that are growing fastest are those that intuitively understand their customers and make brave iconic moves that delight and deliver in new ways,” Charles Trevail, Global Chief Executive of Interbrand, was quoted as saying.

Spotify and Subaru made it to the global top 100 brand list for the first time.

Elon Musk’s Tesla made into the top 100 in 2017 but lost the race this time owing to several controversies around the brand and its future.

When it comes to Apple, it has proved highly adept at maximising the value from its hero product, the iPhone, exemplified by its recent launches of the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR.

“At the same time, it is tapping into the desire for useful apps and services, with sales from its services division growing by 23 per cent to $30 billion in the 2017 fiscal year,” said Mike Rocha, Global Managing Director at Interbrand Economics.

The Interbrand report values a company on the basis of the financial performance of the branded products or services, the role the brand plays in purchase decisions, and the brand’s competitive strength and its ability to create loyalty.

IANS

Taking a cue from Asian markets, the key Indian equity market indices on Thursday opened lower with fears over the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turning more hawkish in its monetary policy stance.

The Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had closed at 35,975.63 points on Wednesday, opened lower at 35,820.53 points.

Minutes into trading, it was quoting at 35,603.53 points, down by 372.10 points, or 1.03 per cent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 51-scrip Nifty, which had closed at 10,858.25 points on Wednesday, was quoting at 10,697.15 points, down by 161.10 points or 1.48 per cent.

Rise in crude oil prices, along with a weak rupee and outflow of foreign funds, had dragged the key domestic equity indices lower over one per cent on Wednesday.

In addition, fears over the central bank turning aggressive in its monetary policy stance due to a rise in inflationary pressure also led to erosion in investors’ risk-taking appetite.

The Sensex was down by 550.51 points or 1.51 per cent at the Wednesday’s closing. In the day’s trade, the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index had touched a high of 36,602.85 points and a low of 35,911.82 points. The Nifty, was down by 150.05 points or 1.36 per cent.

On Thursday, Asian indices were showing a negative trend. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was quoting in red, down by 0.72 per cent while Hang Seng was down by 1.80 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was also down by 1.41 per cent.

Overnight, Nasdaq closed in green, up by 0.32 per cent while FTSE 100 was also up by 0.48 per cent at the closing on Wednesday.

The project is expected to be completed by March 2021 and will increase the airport’s capacity to 45 million passengers annually.

Infrastructure major Larson & Toubro’s (L&T) buildings and factories business arm would build the second terminal of the Bengaluru international airport, said its operator on Wednesday.

“The Rs 3,036-crore order to construct the airport’s terminal-2 has been given to the Building & Factories Business of L&T,” said the operator Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) in a statement in Bengaluru.

The operator is a private-cum-public consortium of the decade-old greenfield Kempegowda airport at Devanahalli, 35km north of the tech hub.

“The terminal will augment the airport’s capacity by 25 million passengers per annum when completed by March 2021 to 45 million from 20 million presently,” said BIAL Chief Executive Hari Marar on the occasion.

The project work includes design, engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of the terminal, integrating services and utilities of the airport’s systems, support facilities and buildings in terminal one.

The L&T arm is constructing the airport’s second runway, apron and auxiliary buildings.

“The repeat order is a measure of confidence our client has in us to deliver another airport project to international class and quality,” said L&T Chief Executive SN Subrahmanyan in the statement.

The US-based leading architecture and urban planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has designed the proposed terminal.

As the country’s third busiest after that of New Delhi and Mumbai, the Bengaluru airport handled 26.9 million passengers in fiscal 2017-18.

In all, 44 Indian and international airlines operate from the airport connecting 46 domestic and overseas destinations daily through the year.

In the consortium, Canada’s leading financial holding firm Fairfax holds 54 per cent equity, Siemens Projects Ventures 20 per cent, while the central and state governments hold 13 per cent each through state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (KSIIDC).

IANS

Attaining sustainable development means shifting away from high-input and resource-intensive farming and food systems towards more sustainable practices, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said.

“Today, it is fundamental to produce food in a way that preserves the environment and biodiversity,” Graziano da Silva said in an address at the biennial meeting of FAO’s Committee on Agriculture (COAG) on Monday.

Current farming practices have contributed to deforestation, water scarcity, soil depletion and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, he told the meeting taking place in Rome from Monday through Friday.

“We have to implement sustainable practices that provide healthy and nutritious food, ecosystem services and climate-change resilience,” said da Silva.

To achieve this switch requires reducing the use of pesticides and chemicals, increasing crop diversification, and improving land conservation practices, among other measures, the FAO Director-General stressed.

He pointed to the inefficiency of current food systems in eradicating hunger, despite the fact that enough food was being produced to feed the entire global population, and underscored how hundreds of millions still do not have the income to buy the food they need or the means to produce it themselves.

“Changes are necessary to ensure that our ambition of nourishing people while nurturing the planet becomes a reality,” he added.

Many of the world’s more than 820 million chronically undernourished people are family farmers living in developing countries’ poor rural areas and who most need support to improve their livelihoods and build resilience, especially in relation to the impacts of conflicts and climate change, Graziano da Silva said.

“If we fail to create opportunities for poor rural people to thrive, especially women and youth, we will also fail to build a safer and more peaceful world,” he added.

Innovation, which is crucial for revitalizing rural areas and to make agriculture more attractive to young people, underpins these efforts, the Director-General said.

Da Silva noted how a lack of high quality and timely agricultural data was a key constraint on transforming the agriculture sectors and implementing the 2030 sustainable development Agenda and said extra funds were needed for data collection and other areas of FAO’s work to reach these goals.

Other discussions slated at this week’s meeting include a review of the implementation of FAO’s Climate Change Strategy the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture and a proposal to scale up the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems initiative, FAO stated.

IANS

The price of petrol is Rs 91.20 (up by Rs 0.12) in Mumbai, Tuesday. The price of diesel also hit a new high for the third consecutive day, retailing at Rs 78.69 per litre (up by Rs 0.17) in the city. The fuel prices are the highest in Maharashtra due to heavy VAT levied by the state government. In Delhi, a litre of petrol costs Rs 83.85 (up by Rs 0.12), while diesel is being sold at Rs 75.25/litre (up by Rs 0.16).

Among the other cities, a litre of petrol costs Rs 85.65 in Kolkata, Rs 87.18 in Chennai, Rs77.34 in Panjim. Diesel, on the other hand, is retailing at Rs 77.10/litre in Kolkata, at Rs 79.57/litre in Chennai, Rs 76.68/litre in Panjim, according to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the largest fuel retailer in India. With petroleum is still excluded from the GST regime, prices vary according to local VAT rates.

Meanwhile, taking on the government, the Maharashtra Congress performed a solemn “shraaddh” (a post-death ritual) of cans of petrol and diesel, and US Dollar on the first day of “Pitrupaksh” in wake of the spiralling fuel prices in the state. Saying that the fuel has now become befitting gifts for weddings, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said, “States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Rajasthan and others have already reduced taxes on fuel. Why can’t Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis follow suit and reduce people’s misery.”

IANS

The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has lowered the ATM cash withdrawal limit on its Classic Debit Card to Rs 20,000 a day, from Rs 40,000. The lower limit will be effective from October 31. This is an attempt to address the growing incidence of ATM frauds and boost digital transactions. “Daily cash withdrawal limits for Classic and Maestro debit cards reduced from Rs 40,000 to Rs 20,000 per day with effect from 31 October 2018,” SBI said on its website.

“In view of the increase in the number of complaints received by banks around fraudulent transactions at ATMs and to encourage digital and cashless transactions, it has been decided to decrease the cash withdrawal limits of debit cards issued or being issued on ‘Classic’ and ‘Maestro’ platforms,” said a bank communique sent out to its offices.

SBI has been urging its account holders who still have magstripe ATM-cum-debit cards to change to new EMV chip debit cards by the end of this year. For card replacement, SBI ATM-cum-debit card-holders can visit their home branch or apply online through internet banking. The conversion process is absolutely safe and comes with no charges. Earlier, SBI had removed the limit on the amount that can be deposited in a non-home branch.

The Reserve Bank today announced that it will inject Rs 36,000 crore liquidity into the system through the purchase of government bonds in October to meet the festival season demand for funds.

The auctions to purchase government bonds as part of the Open Market Operations (OMO) to manage liquidity in the system will be conducted in the second, third and fourth week of October.

“Based on an assessment of the durable liquidity needs going forward and the seasonal growth in currency in circulation observed in build-up to the festive season, RBI has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under OMOs for an aggregate amount of Rs 360 billion in the month of October,” the central bank said in a release.
The auctions, it further said, “would be conducted during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th week of October. The auction dates and the Government securities to be purchased in respective auctions would be communicated in due course”.
 

LG Launches A New Range Of AI Enabled Speakers

With an aim to redefine the music experience, LG Electronics today announced its new line up of speakers featuring Artificial Intelligence (AI) ThinQ® & Meridian Audio.

Launched under LG’s Consumer Audio Video category, this new range includes PK series & LG XBOOM AI ThinQ® WK7. With this new proposition, every music enthusiast will be able to experience a musical extravaganza which weaves magic & sets the heart racing.

Commenting on this occasion, Younchul Park, Director – Home Electronics, LG Electronics India said, “As technology is pervasive & ever changing, we have been witnessing a lot of exciting new trends coming our way, one of which is definitely artificial intelligence. With this evolving trend, we are happy to present the new range of speakers equipped with AI technology. Our aim is to deliver a unique & more intuitive experience for our customers. We have partnered with Meridian, British pioneers of high resolution audio, to deliver an exceptional sound experience to music lovers across the world. The users will get to experience a new way of listening to music & setting the right mood for parties. With the new features we have tried to cater to the needs of all our consumers.”

Integrated with artificial intelligence, LG XBOOM AI ThinQ® WK7 is another innovative addition to LG’s CAV line-up. The speaker comes with Meridian Technology to give you high fidelity sound when playing your favorite music. It is a giant leap forward which provides a truly exceptional sound experience with Google Assistant built in, elevating your sound experience.

It is designed in a cylindrical form as a sit at home as a standalone speaker, measuring 135 x 210.7 x 135 mm with the grille wrapping around and providing a seamless finish. The speaker is one of the 1st ever product with built in Google’s new Android Things platform, with which one will be able to interrogate Google for information, get reports on the weather or to check the calendar, place calls as well as control a whole range of smart home devices.

This certified Hi-Resolution Audio speaker can play back lossless stereo audio at up to 24-bit/96kHz quality. Also, 24-bit upsampling feature converts lower-resolution audio to a high-resolution 24-bit format for a more premium listening experience for all the music lovers. The speaker has the Chromecast functionality built in, and that it can be integrated into a Google-based multi-room audio system, which can be controlled by voice via Google Assistant.

Next in line are the PK series. The series come with a handle that makes it easy to pick up & carry the speaker. The front of the speaker features the grille which offers a glimpse of its dual tweeters & woofers. With the dual passive radiators, the speakers get a better bass performance without using more power or additional speakers. The PK series distributes its high frequencies across its Dual Tweeters for more precise sonic detail. The speaker promises to provide quality sound every day. Together with Meridian, it delivers an exceptional sound experience and comes with Clear Vocal & Enhanced Bass presets for uncompromising performance. “Clear Vocal” allows you to listen to the singers crisp & detailed vocals without distortion at the highest volume. The “Enhanced Bass” mode creates deeper bass tones

The speaker also comes with a very unique feature of Voice command which helps you conveniently control your speaker with your voice. Just press a button & activate your phone’s voice assistant to play music or ask questions.

The aptX HD built-in maintains the original sound quality allowing you to stream higher fidelity than CD, straight from your compatible phone to your speaker. It helps you to get the most out of your high resolution streaming services or files without the compression of typical Bluetooth.

The speaker comes with weather-proof/splash-proof (IPX5) allowing you to use it by the pool or even under the sprinklers. The built-in microphone automatically filters audio making the calls loud & clear. The speaker also synchronizes its built-in LED light to the rhythm of the music to create a pulsing light show for any song and the built-in battery allows it to play up to twenty hours between charges.

The speakers are available in three variants PK3, PK5 & PK7

The new range of speakers is sure to pack a punch like never-before with its wide range of features & thumping performance. The technology of the speakers coupled with best design aesthetics, is sure to make them a big hit among technology lovers and all those who love to have a musical extravaganza.

The speakers would be available at the below mentioned prices – LG PK3- Rs.10,990/-, LG PK5- Rs.14,990/-, LG PK7- Rs.22,990/- &
LG W7ThinQ – Rs.27,990/-

Beverage major Pepsico India has said it will set up waste collection centres and reverse vending machines in Delhi to recycle PET plastic bottles, in partnership with Gem Enviro Management.

An IANS story on Saturday had incorrectly said that Pepsico plans to establish a plant in Delhi to recycle used PET plastic bottles.

“The company has partnered with Gem Enviro Management to set up an infrastructure for collection and recycling of used PET plastic bottles in Delhi, in line with the plastic waste management rules,” a statement from Pepsico said.

“As a responsible leader in the food and beverage industry, we are continually working to reduce the impact of our packaging on the environment and increase recycling of plastic waste,” PepsiCo India President and CEO Ahmed ElSheikh said.

“To this end, we have partnered with Gem Enviro to set up Reverse Vending Machines, collection points and collection centres for used PET bottles at several locations across the city. The programme will also provide training to waste pickers and ensure effective recycling of the used PET collected,” he said.