Amazon plans to invest more than $35 billion in India by 2030 to expand operations and strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities, the US e-commerce giant has said, becoming the latest global tech firm to deepen its presence in the world's most populous country.
Amazon said on Wednesday that the investment is aimed at deepening its presence in Asia's third-largest economy, where it has ramped up spending to compete with Walmart-backed Flipkart and the retail arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.
The US e-commerce giant, which has invested $40 billion in its Indian business since 2010, had announced a $26 billion investment in 2023 to deepen its presence in the country.
Amazon says it has helped generate more than $20 billion in cumulative exports for sellers in India in the last ten years, and plans to increase that to $80 billion by 2030. It aims to create 1 million additional job opportunities in the country by 2030.
Major US tech firms have poured billions of dollars into India this year, underscoring the country's emergence as a strategic hub for cloud, AI and deep-tech growth.
Microsoft has pledged an investment of $17.5 billion in India for AI and cloud infrastructure by 2030, marking its largest investment in Asia, while Google has committed $15 billion over the next five years to build AI data centres.
US-India trade talks
Meanwhile, US and Indian trade negotiators began two days of talks on Wednesday as they try to reach a deal amid geopolitical turbulence after Washington hit New Delhi with huge tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil.
The 50 percent levies on most goods were imposed in August, with US officials arguing the imports of discounted Russian crude effectively bankroll Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Deputy US Trade Representative Rick Switzer's visit comes a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi.
India's foreign ministry described Switzer's meetings as a "familiarisation" trip.
India was among the first countries to begin trade talks after President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on most US trade partners in April. But it is one of the few major economies still without an agreement, raising risks for jobs, economic growth and markets.
What's at stake?
India is the world's fastest-growing major economy and recorded a $45.8 billion goods trade deficit with the United States in 2024.
Large export categories such as smartphones and generic drugs are exempt from Trump's tariffs, but many labour-intensive industries are not.
That's a serious blow for a country already struggling to generate well-paid jobs for millions of young graduates, and the turmoil threatens Modi's ambition to lift the country into high-income status.
Exports fell nearly 12 percent year-on-year in October, driven by a plunge in US-bound shipments.
The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) estimates that labour-heavy sectors - gems and jewellery, textiles and seafood - saw export drops of 37–60 percent between May and September.
Foreign investors have dumped more than $16 billion in Indian equities this year, helping push the rupee to a record low past 90 per dollar.
The International Monetary Fund has also cut India's 2026-27 growth forecast from 6.4 percent to 6.2 percent, assuming "prolonged 50 percent US tariffs".
Exports could shrink to about $49.6 billion this fiscal year, from $86.5 billion last year, potentially knocking up to 80 basis points off growth, according to the GTRI.
‘Largely resolved’
India enthusiastically bought discounted Russian crude after the 2022 attacks in Ukraine as Moscow was hammered with severe sanctions, including on its sale of oil.
But Trump's decision to link trade policy to geopolitics upended US-India relations in August, with roughly half of the tariff burden stemming from Washington's attempt to penalise those purchases.
Talks also stalled over agriculture, with India resisting pressure to cut tariffs on staples like rice and wheat - wary of angering its farmers, a politically powerful constituency.
A senior Indian commerce ministry official said that these issues are "largely resolved", although Trump on Monday also criticised the country for "dumping" rice into the United States.
Negotiating a trade pact is complicated by the need to address Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, though both tracks are linked, officials say.
"These are two separate, parallel negotiations that are going on, but one will feed into another," Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal told an industry event last week.
