Amazon will soon deliver medicines at your doorstep

Drug sellers, e-pharmacies or physical drug stores, in India have a new competitor, the giant e-commerce marketplace, Amazon. Amazon said Friday it will launch an online pharmacy in India that will serve the southern city of Bengaluru, the latest move by the e-commerce giant to widen its reach in a key growth market.

The service, "Amazon Pharmacy", will offer both over-the-counter and prescription-based drugs, basic health devices and traditional Indian herbal medicines, the company said in a statement, without giving a timeline for the launch.

The move comes amid increasing competition in India with rivals Walmart-owned Flipkart, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's upstart online grocery service JioMart and a range of other smaller players.

Last month, the company decided to open 10 new warehouses in India and start offering auto insurance. Amazon had also secured clearance for alcohol delivery in one Indian state, Reuters reported in June.

India is yet to finalize regulations for online drug sales, or e-pharmacies, but the growth of several online sellers such as Medlife, Netmeds, Temasek-backed PharmEasy and Sequoia Capital-backed 1mg has threatened traditional drug stores.

With inputs from Reuters