US e-commerce giant Amazon on August 22 launched its Kindle Store in India, claiming to have the largest selection of any e-bookstore in the country. The India Kindle Store offers over one million e-books, priced in Indian rupees, including 70 of the top selling editions.
"We are proud to launch this new Kindle store for Indian customers, offering Kindle book purchases in rupees and the ability to buy and read the work of many great Indian authors," said Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle content for Amazon.
The Kindle reader will be sold exclusively in Croma stores across India at an introductory price of 6,999 rupees (around $125). "Kindle is the best-selling e-reader in the world and has revolutionised the way people read," said Ajit Joshi, chief executive and managing director of Croma.
Customers may also download and read books on the iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, and Android-based devices.
The India Kindle Store features new releases, best sellers and other works from a range of Indian authors, including Chetan Bhagat, Ashwin Sanghi, Ravinder Singh and Amish Tripathi. Some exclusive Kindle books will be available and over one million classics can be downloaded for free.
Amazon also launched Kindle Direct Publishing for independent authors and publishers in India, allowing them to make their books available to customers world-wide on Kindle devices and reading apps.