Atmanirbhar Amazon! Sounds intriguing?
Well, that's what it is going to be. E-commerce giant Amazon has announced its plans to begin manufacturing Amazon devices in India.
This will be the first Amazon manufacturing effort in India and, as it put it, "reiterates our commitment to the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ for an Atmanirbhar Bharat."
Amit Agarwal, SVP and Country Head, Amazon India briefed Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology on the details of the initiative.
"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 a Atmanirbhar Bharat which is digitally empowered,” the Minister said.
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Tamil Nadu has been an essential partner for Amazon India & we are excited to launch our 1st manufacturing line in Chennai. This contributes directly to the local economy & showcases India’s ability to produce world-class products. @CMOTamilNadu @Guidance_TN @muruganandamiasFebruary 16, 2021
Production in partnership with Foxconn subsidiary
Amazon will commence its manufacturing efforts with contract manufacturer Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn in Chennai and start production later this year.
To start off, the device manufacturing program will produce Fire TV Stick devices.
Amit Agarwal said in a blogpost “Amazon has pledged to invest $1 billion to digitize 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."
The Union Minister said, in a series of tweets, that he asked Amazon to help in taking products made by India’s artisans and Ayurvedic products to global markets through eCommerce Platform.
Further, he suggested the ecommerce giant develop a few villages in India and develop them as fully digital villages as part of the IT ministry's digital village programme. "Amazon should also work with small local shops and make them a stakeholder in the larger efforts of Amazon to grow its business," Prasad added.
