August 15: From Jio Phone 2, Flipkart Coins to Indian Railways, massive announcements coming on big day
The country is gearing up to celebrate the 72nd Independence Day on 15th of August. Since then our nation has developed in almost all spheres of life, but this year's Independence Day is very special as Prime Minister is expected to make special announcements from the ramparts of the Red Fort and there are other announcements in the works from the corporate world including the launch of JioPhone2 and Jio GigaFiber broadband. Here are the details related to a few significant developments on the big day:
1. Reliance Jio's next 4G feature phone, Jio Phone 2, will go on sale from August 15, and will be available via Jio.com and MyJio app at a price of Rs 2,999. The key feature of the Jio Phone 2 is the Blackberry Curve-like QWERTY keypad which also sports a 4-way navigation key. Unlike the Jio Phone, the new phone will come with support for apps such as WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook. Image source: Zee Business
2. Besides launching Jio Phone 2, the telecom firm will also start registrations for Jio GigaFiber broadband from August 15 in India. Reliance Jio is expected to launch Jio GigaFiber plans starting from Rs 500. The service has been making headlines for quite some time but there has been no word about the Jio GigaFiber broadband plans and at what price the company will offer its new services. Image source: Zee Business
3. Homegrown etailer Flipkart is also ready to launch its own customer loyalty programme ‘Flipkart Plus’ to take on Amazon's Prime programme. Under this new programme, Flipkart may offer loyalty points that can be used for benefits like free delivery, early shipping and early access to products during promotional offers, said an Economic Times report. With each order, Flipkart will reportedly offer its Flipkart Plus members digital currency called ‘Plus Coins’, which can be used on its own platform and on partner platforms like Hotstar, BookMyShow, Zomato, MakeMy-Trip and Cafe Coffee Day for buying their services. Image source: Reuters
4. Indian Railways is also expected to rework its timetable by August 15, 2018, and identify the trains which will be affected by the maintenance drive. Quoting Railway Minister, a Hindustan Times report said that the time-tables of all the zonal railways would be revised in such a way that maintenance work is carried out in a planned manner. Image source: Reuters
5. Jet Airways came out with an attractive discount offer under its special nine-day sale to celebrate India's 72nd Independence Day. The booking started from August 7 offered one-way tickets as well as return tickets. Passengers were given offer to choose any one of Jet Airways'21 international destinations including Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Muscat, Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle, London Heathrow, as well as cities such as Manchester, Zurich, Frankfurt, Prague, Geneva, Rome and Toronto. The offer is also applicable on Jet Airways' services to Colombo, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong. Image source: Reuters
6. Indian Railways is ready to begin the first trial of its Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project on a limited section of its western arm from August 15. A freight train with containers will run on the 192 km Ateli (Haryana)-Phulera (Rajasthan) section of the Western DFC on the I-Day. The project aims for a faster run of freight trains with the permissible maximum speed of 100 km per hour. Image source: Reuters