NEWS IN BRIEF

Amazon cuts commission for sellers on electronic devices to attractIndians: Multinational e-tail giant Amazon has upped the ante in the battle for abigger pie of the Indian ecommerce space with a reduction in commission chargesfor sellers using its platform for marketing electronic goods such as smartphonesand computer software products used for educating schoolchildren. According tomarket analysts, part of the reduction in commission charges is expected to bepassed on to consumers. The cut comes at time when arch-rival Flipkart is facingtrouble with sellers over high commission charges and Snapdeal is also looking atways to cut losses. The two companies have also seen a scaling down of theirvaluation.

Capping air fares on regional routes negative for airlines: Report: The newcivil aviation policy has an integrated approach to take flying to the masses, butthe move to cap fares for one-hour flights on unserved regional routes at Rs 2,500is likely to be a negative for airline companies, says a report. Crisil Research alsosaid the 5/20 rule that barred new airlines from flying abroad has been replacedwith the 0/20 norm that "levels the field". As per the 5/20 rule, only domesticairlines with at least five years of operational experience and a minimum of 20planes were allowed to fly overseas.

Aviation sector to see strong growth; air traffic to rise 14%: Domesticaviation industry is likely to see a strong growth period with air traffic estimated togrow at 14 per cent helped by a positive outlook for crude prices, says a report.However, the report by ICICI Securities noticed that the growth rate of 14 per centis low considering that the average annual growth rate of passenger-traffic in Indiahas been more than 18-20 per cent since 2000. "India's aviation sector is set toundergo a strong growth period, which should benefit all incumbent players,particularly on a benign crude price outlook," the report said.

Uber to expand presence to 50 cities by year-end: Taxi aggregator Uber willhave presence in 50 cities in India by the end of the current year and is looking topartner with local companies to expand its business, a top company official saidon Thursday. Uber currently has operations in 27 cities in India and "we will try tobe 50 cities by the end of year. Our goal is to reach everybody and we have to this

in stages," said Eric Alexander, head of business, Uber Asia. He was talking toreporters on the sidelines of an event where Uber announced partnership withTata companies to offer driver partners on the Uber platform a comprehensivevehicle purchase and ownership solution.

Tata, Uber announce partnership to create 20,000 micro-entrepreneurs:Tata companies and Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday announced apartnership to offer driver partners on the Uber platform a comprehensive vehiclepurchase and ownership solution. Under this partnership, the two companies planto enable 20,000 drivers across the country start their own businesses on theUber platform over the next one year. Owners and drivers on the Uber platformwill be able to buy cars like Indica and Indigo from Tata Motors, gain access tofinancing solutions from Tata Capital Financial Services and Tata Motors Financeand get insurance from Tata AIG.