Amazon India News: On Tuesday, US-based e-commerce giant Amazon announced its plan to begin its first electronic devices manufacturing line in India. It will be a massive step towards boosting Indian innovation in manufacturing and giving the manufacturing sector an Atmanirbhar push.
Amazon is an American multinational company that started as an online marketplace for books but soon expanded its wings to sell many products. From selling electronics, video games, apparel, furniture, toys, food, jewelry to setting up a well-established online marketplace for AI, live streaming, and cloud computing.
Amazon released a blog post to elaborate on the news and the latest development that soon to take place. The most significant e-commerce player has joined hands with Cloud Network Technology, a Foxconn subsidiary in Chennai, to work with the Indian government and plan to start production this year. Earlier to this, Apple, another grandee from the technology sector, also has its manufacturing at Foxconn’s plant in Chennai.
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To begin its manufacturing process, the company will start manufacturing Fire TV stick, in India, by the end of this year. The announcement was made after Electronics and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s virtual meeting with Amit Agrawal, Amazon’s Global Senior Vice President and Country Head for India.
Amazon India Initiative for Atmanirbhar Bharat
The Indian government has introduced the initiative called “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to encourage companies to invest in India and compete in the fastest-growing economy.
Expressing thrill on this move, Mr. Prasad said, “India is an attractive investment destination and is poised to become a major player in the global supply chain in the electronics and IT products industry. He also mentioned that the government’s decision to launch a Production- Linked Incentive Scheme has received a tremendous response globally. Mr. Prasad welcomed Amazon’s decision to set up a manufacturing line in Chennai, as it will enhance domestic production capacities and create jobs as well.”
“Range of issues related to the digital sector were discussed during this meeting. After this meeting, Amazon India announced the start of manufacturing electronics products from India. To begin with, Amazon is going to start manufacturing Amazon Fire TV stick from India,” an official statement said.
Speaking on occasion, Mr. Agrawal said, “we are 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 the Indian customers. It further reiterates our commitment to the Government of India’s Make in India’ initiative.”
As per Amazon, the Chennai line can produce thousands of electronic devices every year; the company said in an official statement that “Amazon will continuously evaluate scaling capacity to additional marketplaces/cities depending on the domestic demand.”
Mr. Agrawal, Amazon’s global senior vice president of Amazon India, said in a recent statement, “Amazon is committed to partner with the Indian government to advance the vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. We have pledged to invest the US $1 billion to digitize 10 million small and medium businesses, help Indian businesses sell worldwide thereby enabling US $10B in cumulative exports, and create additional 1MN jobs by 2025.”
Placing importance on the ongoing “vocal for local,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, during the meeting with the Amazon officials, asked Amazon India to encourage the ayurvedic products and products made by the Indian artisans. He said, “Amazon is a global company must evolve as a truly Indian company deeply connected with Indian business community and culture.“
In another news, a senior official from the Tamil Nadu government said that they’ve been in touch with Amazon, “What we understand is Amazon would first manufacture the devices through contract manufacturer Foxconn and later might start their production.”
