the weekend review
FLIPKART TO LAUNCH OWN SMARTPHONE UNDER BILLION BRAND
India’s largest online retail firm Flipkart will launch a new smartphone under its Billion brand, which will be the first major initiative by co-founder and executive chairman Sachin Bansal, since he stepped aside as chief executive officer of the firm in January 2016.
The new, so-called Made for India smartphone called Billion Capture+ will go on sale on Flipkart on November 15.
The Flipkart smartphone, based on the Android operating system, will be priced at ₹10,999 for the 32GB model and at ₹12,999 for the 64GB model, Billion category head Hrishikesh Thite said.
The phone has been designed, engineered, manufactured as well as tested in India, he added. (bit.ly/2iJKBU7)
DELHI SMOG: AIR PURIFIERS SALES RISE AS POLLUTION WORSENS IN NCR
Air purifiers manufacturers are witnessing a spike in sales in the Capital and adjoining areas as consumers resort to panic buying with air pollution in DelhiNCR breaching critical limit.
Companies like Xiaomi, Eureka Forbes, Blue Air, Panasonic India, Honeywell and Sharp said they have witnessed multi-fold jump in demand for air purifiers in the last couple of days. Air purifiers from different brands are available at a price range of ₹9,000 to ₹36,000 depending on power and features.
Air quality in Delhi-NCR has been at the season’s worst for the last couple of days as a combined effect of smoke from stubble burning and moisture turned the region into a “gas chamber”, leaving people gasping. (bit.ly/2mcrKFV)
BELGIAN BEER BRANDS CHIMAY AND DELIRIUM TO ENTER INDIA
It’s brewed by monks within the walls of an abbey and profits from it go to charity. Now, Belgium’s Chimay, one of only 11 so-called Trappist beers in the world, will be available in India.
Chimay is entering the Indian market at a time the Belgian royal couple King Philippe and Queen Mathilde are in India to mark 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Along with Chimay, Belgian beer Delirium, with its famous pink elephant logo, is also entering the Indian market.
India will be the 60th market for Chimay and Delirium—two of the finest makers of ales in the world. Both Chimay and Delirium will be imported, distributed and marketed in India by New Delhi-based Hema Connoisseur Collections Pvt. Ltd, an importer and distributor of some of top international liquor brands. (bit.ly/2hZU5L5)
RBI CUTS PRINTING ORDER FOR NEW CURRENCY NOTES
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced its order for printing currency notes for the current fiscal year to the lowest in five years, citing lack of space in the currency chests of the central bank and commercial banks, two people familiar with the matter said. The indent (government jargon for order) for fiscal year 2018 now stands at 21 billion pieces of currency, as against 28 billion pieces in the previous year, the two people said on the condition of anonymity.
The average annual indent for banknotes over the past five years has been 25 billion pieces. (bit.ly/2mbrC9J)
PAYPAL LAUNCHES DOMESTIC OPERATIONS IN INDIA
Global payments aggregator PayPal Holdings Inc. launched its domestic operations in India on Wednesday. The firm will now offer payment options to both customers and merchants for domestic transactions.
So far, PayPal was offering cross-border payment options to merchants in India. “Both customers and merchants will be able to use the PayPal platform within India. We will also be providing one touch option for making payments through Facebook Messenger,” said Rohan Mahadevan, senior vice-president and chief executive for Asia Pacific. PayPal is yet to take a call on the launch of its wallet in India. (bit.ly/2zrP8EP)
INDIGO TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ASSAULT ON PASSENGER
IndiGo said on Wednesday it takes responsibility for an incident in which its security staff manhandled a passenger at the New Delhi airport, a day after the event prompted the government to launch an investigation into the airline. In a video, widely shared on social media and televised on news channels, at least two IndiGo staff members can be seen pinning a passenger down on the ground after an argument on the tarmac. In a seven-page report addressed to the civil aviation minister, IndiGo used multiple screenshots from the video to explain reasons behind the incident and what transpired between the passenger and its employees. (bit.ly/2hjArJv)