Uber plans to invest $1 billion in India

Uber Technologies Inc will invest $1 billion in India in the next nine months as the online ride hailing company is bullish on the Indian market. Uber said it would use the additional investment to improve operations, expand into newer cities, and develop new products and payment solutions. 

"Uber has grown exponentially in India, a global priority market for us, which has also quickly become the largest market geographically for Uber outside the US," Amit Jain, president of Uber India said in a statement.

India asked unregistered web-based taxi services to halt operations in December after a driver contracted with Uber was accused of rape. Uber applied for licenses in New Delhi but continued its operations while approvals were pending.

Uber said India and China are its priority markets. It had said last month that it would invest more than $1 billion in China this year as it looks to rev up growth in the world's second largest economy. One of the fastest-growing sharing-economy companies, Uber operates in 57 countries, with an estimated value of more than $40 billion. It has also tangled with transportation authorities across the globe, along with attorneys seeking to deem Uber drivers employees entitled to benefits.