BS Manthan: No country like India for tech companies, says Manish Tiwary

Speaking at a fireside chat at the Business Standard Manthan event, Amazon India head Manish Tiwary said there is no place like India for tech companies

Amazon Vice-President and India Manager Manish Tiwary said that there is no better country in the world for technological innovations than India

Speaking at the Business Standard Manthan, he said, "For any company that is in the technology space, there is no place like India in terms of resource pool. We have more than 100,000 employees in India. It's a large market."

Talking about the large companies' outlook for India at 2047, Tiwary remarked that due to excellent demographic diversity and quick adoption of technology, India is well poised to become a developed nation by 2047. "I can't think of any country which is better poised. I wouldn't be surprised if we hit developed status before 2047," he added.

On his biggest learning curve in the Indian markets, Tiwary said that the talent to innovate with frugality and the country's place as a source of ideas on the global platform were the two key takeaways. "Whatever we develop in India is applicable around the world," he said.

Speaking on what is missing in the regulatory arena, Tiwary contended that they are in a comfortable position right now and would want the current stability to continue. "We are in a sweet spot right now. We can see the buoyancy and the consumption in the Indian market. We would want the stability to continue in India's China+1 journey," he said.

When asked about the competitive landscape in the country, Tiwary replied that with the current penetration of e-commerce so low, there are no worries as of now. "If you look at e-commerce, the reality is penetration is only 1-2 per cent. Fashion is 0.5 per cent. You start worrying about competition when penetration is 97-98 per cent. More players will help the ecosystem get better. We have a long way to go before we worry about competition," he added.

Answering a question on the counterfeit products being sold on Amazon, Tiwary said that technology is the answer. "Our philosophy is we want it easy for the sellers to sell. What we do through technology is to identify gap areas through millions of feedback and ratings every day. It will never be perfect," he said.

Pointing out Amazon India's plan in terms of job creation in the country, Tiwary laid out a three-point plan for the company. Focusing on exports, Amazon has planned to export $20 billion worth of goods from various local sellers, he remarked. Further, he added that the company plans to digitise 10 million stores and create 2 million incremental jobs in the ecosystem.