We value Amazon's efforts to empower businesses from urban centres to rural areas: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said on Tuesday that the government values Amazon's efforts to leverage its logistics expertise across India, empowering businesses from urban centres to rural areas, as the e-commerce giant announced a series of initiatives towards 'Viksit Bharat'.

At the fifth edition of its annual 'Smbhav Summit' in the national capital, the e-commerce giant announced to increase its exports commitment fourfold to enable over $80 billion in cumulative exports from India by 2030.

The company also earmarked $120 million from its 'Smbhav Venture Fund' to invest in startups that digitise consumer goods.

In his keynote address at the event, Minister Gadkari said that such collaborative efforts by the private sector are "instrumental in fostering innovation, driving exports, and strengthening logistics infrastructure, propelling India's journey toward becoming a global economic powerhouse".

The 'Smbhav Venture Fund' also signed an MoU with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to accelerate the government's key priority of establishing the country as a global manufacturing hub and creating thousands of jobs.

In addition, the company will now offer its world-class, reliable and cost-effective logistics services to businesses across the country.

"As one of the world's fastest-growing economies, India is a key market for Amazon and our focus areas align well with the government's vision and priorities of digitising small businesses, boosting exports and creating jobs, "Amazon's Senior VP, Emerging Markets, Amit Agarwal said.

The company also launched 'Amazon Freight' for intra-city and inter-city transportation services nationally with full truckload options ranging from 5 feet to 40 feet to accommodate varied capacity requirements and 'Amazon Shipping' for last-mile delivery services.

The company had earlier pledged to digitise 10 million MSMEs, generate $20 billion in cumulative exports from India and create 2 million jobs in India by 2025.