News Digest: Apple-Amazon deal, Foodpanda on discount spree, and more

Demonetisation and GST are the two major headwinds that held back India's economic growth last year, says ex Governor Raghuram Rajan

Apple, Amazon strike deal to boost sales in India, other key markets

Apple will begin selling its iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch directly on Amazon’s websites in India and other international markets as part of a global deal struck by the two technology titans.

Amazon will delist the Apple and Beats products being sold by non-authorised resellers, paving the way for the Cupertino-based technology company to exert more control over the online sales channel for its devices. Read more 

India's economic growth held back due to note ban, GST: Raghuram Rajan

Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are the two major headwinds that held back India's economic growth last year, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said, asserting that the current seven per cent growth rate is not enough to meet the country's needs.

Addressing an audience at the University of California in Berkley on Friday, Rajan said for four years -- 2012 to 2016 -- India was growing at a faster pace before it was hit by two major headwinds. Read more 

NHAI to focus on executing contracts where all clearances are in place

Tightening its fist on project financing, the road ministry, which aims to construct 30 per cent more roads each day this year, will focus on executing contracts where all requisite clearances are in place. Now, its construction wing — the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) — is focusing on judiciously planning its expenditure for the current financial year.

The length of highways completed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the NHAI and the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) in 2017-18 was 9,829 km, or roughly 27 km per day. Read more

Netflix has no plans for cheaper India offerings, says CEO Reed Hastings

Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said that the streaming video company had no plans for cheaper prices in the hotly competitive India market and that an executive's comments suggesting otherwise had been "misunderstood."

In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Hastings noted that Netflix had three price tiers in India: Rs 500 ($6.90) for a basic plan, Rs 650 ($9.00) for a standard plan and Rs 800 ($11) for premium. Those prices are only modestly lower than what the company charges in the United States. Read more

Foodpanda unleashes monster discounts, refunds to capture market share

Imagine ordering the regular chicken biryani from your neighbourhood eatery on a Saturday afternoon — not for Rs 149 per plate — but Rs 49. 

Users of Ola-owned food-delivery service provider Foodpanda are already taking advantage of this. But, it gets better. Read more