E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc has announced to start making its TV streaming device, Fire TV Stick, in India with collaboration of a unit of Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn, reported Reuters quoting the US-based company on Tuesday. The device will be made by Foxconn in Chennai. This is the first time that Amazon will start manufacturing its devices in India.
Amazon has also said that in compliance with the current government’s AtmaNirbhar vision, it aims to digitalise 10 million small and medium businesses. For this, it will be spending $1 billion. It also aims to create one million jobs in the country by 2025.
According to a statement by the online retailer, manufacturing Fire TV Sticks in India will help it meet the demands of Indian customers.
Amazon, in a blogpost, said, “Amazon will continuously evaluate scaling capacity to additional marketplaces/cities depending on the domestic demand.”
This further reiterates our commitment to the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,” Amit Aggarwal, Senior Vice President of Amazon India said.
Depending on the market response, Amazon aims to expand its manufacturing line to other parts of the country as well.
The announcement was made after a meeting between the Technology Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Amit Aggarwal.
Amazon also tweeted that their manufacturing line will cater to the local economy of Chennai since Tamil Nadu has always been an ‘essential partner’ for Amazon.
Cheap internet in India after the launch of Reliance’s Jio in 2016 has led to the growth of video and audio streaming services such as Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix.
Amazon’s decision to manufacture the device in India can give push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy to make the country a hub for electronics manufacturing to compete with other Asian nations such as China and Taiwan, and create jobs.
New Delhi’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 base in the country.
It has also helped India become the world’s second-biggest mobile maker.
