NEW DELHI: Amazon.com on Tuesday launched a Hindi version of its mobile website and app for Android smartphones in a bid to make deeper inroads into India’s fast-growing e-commerce market, stepping up its battle with Walmart’s Flipkart unit.
None of India’s other leading e-commerce portals — Flipkart, Snapdeal or Paytm Mall — currently have a local language version of their apps or websites, and the move to launch a Hindi app and website could give Amazon access to tens of millions of new customers in India’s small towns and villages.
“What we believe is, Amazon.in in Hindi is a critical step to actually address the next 100 million customers,” Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Category Management at Amazon India told reporters at a news conference.
Amazon is looking to win over the next 100 million customers in the country, its India head Amit Agarwal told Reuters in April. The country’s e-commerce market is tipped to grow to $200 billion in a decade, according to Morgan Stanley.
Flipkart, along with its fashion units Myntra and Jabong, is slightly ahead of Amazon in India’s online retail, according to Forrester estimates.
Amazon also has plans to support more local Indian languages on its shopping app and mobile website and will also extend the service to mobile platforms beyond Android, said Kishore Thota, Amazon India’s head of customer experience and marketing, without giving a timeline.
Amazon India unveils Hindi website, app in battle with Flipkart
Amazon India unveils Hindi website, app in battle with Flipkart
Saudi Arabia approves over 1k chemical permits, awards 172 mining licenses
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia processed more than 1,000 chemical permit requests in November and awarded exploration rights for 172 mining sites in what the government described as its largest licensing round on record.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said it handled 1,095 chemical clearance requests during the month, including 1,041 approvals for non-restricted chemicals and 54 for restricted substances, covering 2,081 product classifications, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
It forms part of ongoing efforts to accelerate the discovery and development of mineral resources valued at over SR9.4 trillion ($2.51 trillion), aligning with Vision 2030’s objective to position mining as the third pillar of the national industrial sector.
Ministry spokesperson Jarrah Al-Jarrah explained that the chemical clearance service enables industrial investors to obtain import or export permits for chemicals used in manufacturing through the “Sanaei” digital platform.
“He clarified that the service aims to ensure that chemical clearances for industrial facilities are granted through streamlined procedures and in a timely manner, thus serving investors and facilitating the entry of their materials through ports of entry,” the SPA report stated.
Al-Jarrah explained that the service plays a critical role in enhancing industrial output by developing and automating permit procedures for production-related chemicals as part of the ministry’s digital services.
In a separate development, the ministry announced that 24 domestic and international companies and consortiums won exploration licenses across 172 mining sites in Saudi Arabia, with 76 of those sites awarded through a multi-round public auction.
These sites span three mineral belts in the Riyadh, Madinah, and Qassim regions, with committed exploration spending exceeding SR671 million during the first two years of project implementation.
The ministry described this licensing round as the largest mining tender in the Kingdom’s history.
The competition covered more than 24,000 sq. km across regions known for strategic minerals including gold, copper, silver, zinc, and nickel.
Additionally, the ministry noted that 26 qualified companies participated through the electronic bidding platform, progressing through a transparent process that began with prequalification and culminated in competitive multi-round auctions.
The ministry confirmed that these investments aim to develop untapped exploration zones and enhance the utilization of Saudi Arabia’s mineral wealth, strengthening global supply chains.
It also announced plans to launch further exploration license tenders covering 13,000 sq. km across Madinah, Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, and Hail, with additional opportunities to be revealed at the 5th Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh from Jan. 13 to 15.
These efforts, the ministry stated, reflect a broader mining strategy focused on maximizing resource potential, attracting foreign investment, creating employment opportunities, and integrating value chains to establish Saudi Arabia as a global mining hub.
