Amazon India will begin manufacturing electronic devices in India, starting with its Fire TV Sticks, the company announced on Tuesday, 16 February, following a meeting with Union Electronics & IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President and Country Head, Amazon India briefed Prasad, on the details of the initiative over a virtual meeting. Following the interaction, Agarwal stated that the company is “delighted to announce Amazon’s first manufacturing line in India to produce hundreds of thousands of Fire TV Stick devices every year, catering to the demands of Indian customers.”
“This further reiterates our commitment to the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,” Agarwal added.
Amazon will commence its manufacturing efforts with contract manufacturer Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn in Chennai, and start production later this year.
The company added it will continuously evaluate scaling capacity to additional marketplaces/cities depending on the domestic demand.
The announcement comes nearly a year after Amazon had pledged $1 billion or Rs 10 crore in April 2020.
A day after Facebook acquired a 9.99 percent stake in Reliance Jio’s platforms with the aim of capturing medium and small business onto its digital platform, retail giant Amazon announced it has pledged Rs 10 crore to “immediately expand” its pilot project to onboard local stores.
On 16 February, Agarwal said the move aims to create an additional million jobs by 2025.
“We have pledged to invest $1 billion to digitise 10 million small and medium businesses, help Indian businesses sell worldwide, thereby enabling $10 billion in cumulative exports, and create an additional 1 million jobs by 2025.”Amit Agarwal, Global SVP and Country Leader for Amazon India
According to a statement by the Union Electronics & IT Ministry, Prasad asked Amazon India to help in taking products made by India’s artisans and Ayurvedic products to global markets through the ecommerce platform. He also urged the company to pick up “a few villages in India and develop them as fully digital villages.”
"Amazon is a global company but Amazon India must evolve as a truly India company deeply connected with Indian business community and culture,” Prasad said.
He further added, “Amazon should also work with small local shops and make them a stakeholder in the larger efforts of Amazon to grow its business.”
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)