Amazon on Tuesday said it will start manufacturing its popular Fire TV streaming stick device in India later this year, signalling the tech giant’s aggressive push in what’s expected to be the big win for the government’s “Make in India” project.
The e-commerce company will start locally manufacturing its TV streaming device at contract manufacturer Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn in Chennai. This is the first time Amazon will make its hardware devices in India. The Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon plans to produce “hundreds of thousands “of Fire TV Stick devices every year, the company said in a blog post.
“Amazon is committed to partner with the Indian government to advance the vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. 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 one million jobs by 2025. Today, 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. This further reiterates our commitment to the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,” Amit Agarwal, Global SVP and Country Leader for Amazon India said in the blog post.
India’s economic growth and massive population size and the fact that more people are now using the internet will prove critical for Amazon in the long run. The Seattle-based Amazon is pouring in billions to expand its presence in India.
Amazon is looking at India for the next growth market, and manufacturing its devices in the country is another step to fulfil its growing ambitions. The company sells a lot of its hardware devices in India, including the Echo smart speakers, Kindle e-reader and Fire TV stick.
The government wants to make India the next big manufacturing hub, and Amazon is cashing on the opportunity.
India, the world’s second-most populous country, is still a small contributor to Amazon’s total sales but the country may become important in the coming years.
We’re excited to announce our 1️⃣st device manufacturing line in India & contribute to the #MakeInIndia initiative.
This will:
Boost Indian innovation in manufacturing 🤝
Drive economic growth 📈
Create jobs 💼https://t.co/qrgt0tqVSa@GoI_MeitY @PMOIndia @Chetankrishna— Amazon India News (@AmazonNews_IN) February 16, 2021
Amazon isn’t the only company that sees India as the top manufacturing hub for electronics. Apple too is making a push into India by manufacturing its iPhones as well as expanding its retail presence. Chinese smartphone makers such as Xiaomi, Vivo and OnePlus already sell locally manufactured smartphones in the country.
