India Market Updates: Apr 2021

• As Delhi recorded a massive rise in coronavirus numbers, the state government on Monday, 19 April announced a complete lockdown till 26 April in the National Capital. This sudden measure was taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 after the city recorded over 25,000 new cases on Sunday. (Source: First Post)
  
  
• Maharashtra Government on Tuesday, 14 April announced a 15-day long statewide curfew amid the spike in coronavirus cases in the state. The curfew, which excludes essential services, will come into effect from 8 pm on April 14, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in his address via social media to people of the state. (Source: Time of India)
  
  
• The Civil Aviation Ministry stated that India has established an individual bilateral air bubble arrangement with Sri Lanka for the operation of special international passenger flights between the two countries. An air bubble is a bilateral arrangement with a set of regulations and restrictions in which the carriers of the two countries can operate international flights. (Source: The Hindu)
  
  
• New Zealand on Thursday temporarily suspended entry for all travellers from India, including its own citizens, for about two weeks following a high number of positive coronavirus cases arriving from India. The move comes after New Zealand recorded 23 new positive coronavirus cases at its border on Thursday, of which 17 were from India. (Source: Reuters)
  
  
• E-commerce giant Flipkart has announced the proposed acquisition of Cleartrip. Flipkart will acquire 100 per cent of Cleartrip’s shareholding, as the company further enhances its investments to strengthen its digital commerce offerings for customers. This transaction was in line with Flipkart’s strategy to diversify into product lines and categories via the M&A route and drive more GMV (gross merchandise value). Under the terms of the agreement, Cleartrip operations will be acquired by Flipkart. Cleartrip will continue to operate as a separate brand, retaining all employees while working closely with Flipkart to further develop technology solutions to make travel simple for customers. (Source: India TV News)
  
  
• Emirates is launching special fares. With Emirates’ generous booking policies, customers have the option to extend ticket validity for up to two years, enjoying greater flexibility and confidence when planning travel during unprecedented times. Travellers in India can look forward to flight deals to Dubai, Cairo, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Lusaka, Accra, Entebbe, and Dar es Salaam. Special seasonal fares are available for bookings made from 13 to 26 April 2021, valid for travel between 16 April and 30 September 2021. (Source: Business Traveller)
  
  
• Visit Maldives initiates a marketing campaign with Amazon India. Lasting from April 14, 2021 to May 13, 2021, the natural beauty and the naturally distanced islands of Maldives will be advertised on the Amazon app reaching a customer base of 35 million daily and 310 million monthly unique visitors. The campaign is part of Visit Maldives’ greater strategy to increase outbound arrivals to achieve pre-pandemic arrival figures and sustain India as the fastest growing source market for Maldives. As part of the campaign, Amazon India will feature Maldives on its three application most engaged pages: Mobile Below the Fold (MBTF), Amazon Pay page and the Thank You page. The campaign aims to target a variety of groups such as affluent shoppers, travel enthusiasts and professional tech enthusiasts. The advertisements are estimated to achieve over nine million impressions. (Source: Travel Trends Today)