Amazon to invest $233 million to enhance India operations network

E-commerce giant Amazon India recently announced that it will invest about Rs 2,000 crore or over $233 million this year to expand and upgrade its logistics and operations infrastructure in a move to accelerate delivery speeds and enhance service reliability. 

The announcement comes as the e-commerce giant navigates intensifying competition from ultra-fast delivery startups and a broader slowdown in India’s digital retail sector.

The investment, one of the company’s largest annual capital allocations to date, aims to fortify Amazon’s fulfilment, sortation and last-mile delivery capabilities, particularly in urban markets.

"For over a decade now in India, we have been focused on building the best-in-class logistics infrastructure—designed to deliver with safety, speed, scale, and reliability for our customers across the country. These latest investments reflect our commitment to continually expand and upgrade our operations across our fulfilment, sortation, and delivery network,” said Abhinav Singh, VP-Operations, Amazon India and Australia.

"By strengthening our infrastructure capabilities, enhancing processing capacity, and implementing state-of-the-art technology, we're positioning Amazon to better serve customers throughout India while supporting our employees, associates and partners who are the heart of it all," Singh added.

The move follows Amazon's recent pilot rollout of “Now,” its 10-minute delivery service, in select pin codes in Bengaluru. The company plans to expand the service to Delhi-NCR and Mumbai later this year, directly entering a crowded field that includes Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, BigBasket, and JioMart.

The investment comes at a time of decelerating growth in India’s e-commerce sector. According to a Bain & Company and Flipkart report, the e-tail market grew by only 10–12% in calendar year 2024, down from more than 20% in previous years.

Despite the headwinds, Amazon India reported a 14% increase in operating revenue in fiscal year 2024, reaching Rs 25,406 crore. That pace outstripped the 3% rise in FY23, though it remained below pandemic-era growth levels—32% in FY22 and 49% in FY21. Net losses narrowed by 28% to Rs 3,469 crore.

Beyond physical infrastructure, Amazon is channeling funds into technology and workforce-related initiatives. The company is enhancing its delivery personnel app to provide more transparency around earnings and benefits, and to introduce improved navigation tools to locate difficult addresses more efficiently.

On the employee welfare front, Amazon is promoting helmet usage among delivery partners and continuing to invest in programs such as “Samridhi” for financial assistance, “Ashray” for rest points, and “Sushruta,” which offers healthcare support for truck drivers. A nationwide health check-up campaign underway is expected to benefit 80,000 delivery associates by year-end.