Amazon pledges $2bn India investment

India's' online retail markets is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years

Amazon, one of the world's largest online retailers, has said it will invest a further $2bn (£1.2bn) to boost its operations in India.

The firm said India is on track to become "our fastest country ever" to reach $1bn in gross sales.

Amazon's move comes a day after India's largest e-commerce firm Flipkart raised $1bn in fresh funding, the largest ever for an Indian internet firm.

India's total e-commerce market was worth $13bn in 2013.

But online travel accounted for more than 70% of the transactions.

According to research firm Forrester, online sales of retail goods were worth $1.6bn last year.

However, that number is expected to reach $76bn by 2021 as more people across the country get connected to the internet.

"We see huge potential in the Indian economy and for the growth of e-commerce in India," Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon, said in a statement.

"After our first year in business, the response from customers and small and medium-sized businesses in India has far surpassed our expectations."