Ecommerce marketplace Flipkart on Saturday announced that it will kick off the country’s festive season with its biggest flagship event, The Big Billion Days (TBBD), from October 16 to October 21. Flipkart Plus customers will also enjoy an 'Early Access' on October 15, it said in a statement.

This year, Flipkart has enabled new and convenient payment offerings on its platform, to pave the way for an inclusive and consumer-centric shopping experience. Flipkart consumers shopping during The Big Billion Days will be able to avail 10 percent instant discount through their SBI Debit and Credit Cards.

Furthermore, no-cost EMIs will be made available to consumers through offers from Bajaj Finserv EMI cars and other leading bank credit and debit cards.

The company has also partnered with Paytm to offer assured cashback to consumers paying through Paytm Wallet and Paytm UPI, to expand the reach of seamless shopping. Debit-card EMIs on select cards (with no minimum balance) and Flipkart Pay Later continue to bring credit access to consumers.

The Big Billion Days will generate employment opportunities in the country as the sale-event will create over 70,000 direct and lakhs of indirect seasonal jobs as sellers, artisans, and brands gear up to fulfill consumer demand.

Flipkart has enabled thousands of new sellers to join its platform in the last six months while hand holding them through their ecommerce journey including efforts such as free business incubation support for a limited period, insights in matters of product cataloging, advertising, and speed.

In addition, the company has hosted several virtual learning and development events where sellers get a chance to speak with Flipkart representatives and leaders to understand and gain insights into the best practices to attain maximum benefits of e-commerce during the festive season.

To strengthen its existing supply chain capabilities, Flipkart has significantly expanded its Kirana onboarding program to include more than 50,000 Kiranas, who will in turn make last-mile deliveries to consumers in more than 850 cities. Through this initiative, e-commerce will become more personalized for consumers across the country while also creating additional income streams for its Kirana partners.

Kalyan Krishnamurthy, the CEO, Flipkart Group, said, "The Big Billion Days stands for a celebration of brands, an assortment of collections never seen before, a spirit of festivity and joy, and a feeling of immense excitement as everyone embarks on their festive season preparations. This festive event continues to focus on Flipkart’s commitment to provide value for consumers, opportunities for growth for MSMEs and sellers, and employment generation through e-commerce. Through strong partnerships with brands and sellers, we have tapped into the power of interconnected businesses and technology to bring consumers a wide range of products at great prices at their doorsteps this festive season."