American eCommerce giant Amazon announced that it will be launching its first manufacturing line in India later this year.
The unit will be set up in the capital city of south Indian state Tamil Nadu, Chennai, and will begin with producing “hundreds of thousands” of Amazon Fire TV Stick devices every year.
The company further said that it will invest $1 billion to digitize 10 million small and medium businesses, help businesses in India sell worldwide enabling $10 billion in cumulative exports, and create 1 million jobs by 2025.
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is a media streaming device which lets you stream video, install apps, play music and more on your television.
Amazon said that setting up manufacturing in India is in line with its commitment to the government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives.
According to an Amazon blog post on the initiative, the company will start the manufacturing operations in Chennai later this year in partnership with contract manufacturer Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Taiwanese electronic contract manufacturer Foxconn. Amazon also said that it will continuously evaluate the scaling capacity of the manufacturing line to additional marketplaces and more cities depending on the domestic demand.
The announcement was made following a meeting between Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President, Amazon India and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Information and Technology.
Ravi Shankar Prasad Union Minister of IT India
“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. Our Government’s decision to launch a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme has received tremendous response globally. We welcome Amazon’s decision to set up a manufacturing line in Chennai, as it will enhance domestic production capacities, and create jobs as well. This will further our mission of creating an Atmanirbhar Bharat which is digitally empowered.”
Mr. Agarwal said that Amazon was committed to partnering with the government to advance the vision of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. “This further reiterates our commitment to the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,” he added.
A tweet from Amazon added that Tamil Nadu has been an essential partner for the company and that its first manufacturing line in India in Chennai will contribute directly to the local economy and showcase India’s ability to produce world-class products.
Indian government’s local manufacturing drive has attracted iPhone makers Foxconn and Wistron to expand in India, and another key contract manufacturer Pegatron has also set up a base in the country. It has also helped India become the world’s second-biggest mobile maker.
