The cost of women’s unpaid labour; Amazon’s fee reductions for merchants
Women’s time is important in a nation’s development story, and we must start valuing and investing in it. Amazon India has announced a series of fee reductions for merchants on its platform.
Hello,
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday to strengthen bilateral ties.
India and Canada have agreed on a landmark C$2.6-billion ($1.9 billion) deal to supply uranium to India. It will support India’s nuclear ambitions and work towards a clean, reliable base load power.
Both countries also aim to conclude a free trade pact by the year-end and increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030, from $9 billion in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, Telangana is aiming to scale rural entrepreneurship with a challenge fund.
The Rs 12-crore fund launched by Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty, in partnership with TBIS BITS Pilani Hyderabad, T-Hub, and WE Hub, will enable over 300 women and young entrepreneurs with targeted institutional support.
In other news, Australia may go after app stores and search engines as part of an AI crackdown.
In December, Australia became the first country to ban social media for teenagers under 16 years of age. Now the country’s internet regulator has said it may push search engines and app stores to block AI services that fail to verify user age, Reuters reports.
In the world of startups, Bounce has raised $5 million as the electric mobility firm tries to reinvent itself after the collapse of its scooter-sharing model.
Lastly, watch out for the Blood Moon today as the moon slides into the darkest part of the earth’s shadow.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- The cost of women’s unpaid labour
- Amazon’s fee reductions for merchants
Here’s your trivia for today: What was Google’s first server encased in?
Gender justice
The cost of women’s unpaid labour
According to the Time Use Survey, conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, women in India spend nearly 140 minutes a day on caregiving, almost double the 74 minutes men spend on caregiving.
Among individuals aged six years and older, the average time spent on unpaid activities is 278 minutes per day. For women, that figure rises to 363 minutes daily—nearly three times the 123 minutes recorded for men.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, we discuss why women’s time is important in a nation’s development story, and why we must start valuing and investing in it.
Key takeaways:
- When paid and unpaid work are combined, women’s total working time exceeds that of men. Even when women enter formal employment, they do not shed domestic responsibilities; they add to them.
- How do you reprice a woman’s time? Structural investment is central. Affordable and accessible childcare facilities, hybrid and flexible work options, and better urban planning for mobility and safety must be prioritised.
- Equally important is the distribution of care within households, where men’s participation must be encouraged and normalised.
ICYMI: Recently, the Delhi High Court, while hearing a case on a matrimonial dispute, observed that a homemaker’s work cannot be called “idle”.
<Funding Alert>
Startup: Inamo
Amount: $8M
Round: Series A
Startup: Bounce
Amount: $5M
Round: Internal funding
Ecommerce
Amazon’s fee reductions for merchants
Amazon India has unveiled a series of fee reductions for merchants on its platform, expanding a programme that eliminates referral fees to cover more than 12.5 crore products priced under Rs 1,000.
The move follows a similar initiative by rival Flipkart, which waived seller commissions on goods under Rs 1,000 late last year. It marks a year of significant financial improvement for Amazon’s marketplace operator and ongoing investments in AI to compete with emerging rivals.
Key takeaways:
- The revised fee structure takes effect on March 16, 2026 and applies to products priced under Rs 1,000 across more than 1,800 categories. Eligible merchandise includes apparel, electronics, homeware, pet accessories, and toys.
- This is a more than tenfold expansion from the 1.2 crore products eligible for zero referral fees in 2025. According to Amazon, sellers can reduce their fee expenses by up to 70% under the new terms.
- The company indicated that the fee revisions are intended to improve operational efficiency and profitability for small businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly those in Tier II and III cities.
News & updates
- Market impact: Stocks slumped, the dollar rallied, and oil prices surged on Monday under the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. Travel stocks tumbled as several flights were disrupted worldwide. Analysts have warned of weeks of disruption.
- Power outage: Amazon cloud-computing unit’s facilities in the Middle East faced power and connectivity issues on Monday, the company said, after its UAE data centre was struck by “objects”, creating sparks and fire. Amazon Web Services' UAE and Bahrain regions were affected by outages, it said.
What was Google’s first server encased in?
Answer: Lego blocks
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