Alexa and Amazon Devices COVID-19 resources in India

We want to do everything we can to support you during these unprecedented times and our teams are working to make Alexa and Amazon Devices (Kindle, Echo, and Fire TV) even more helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic. We'll continue to update this page with new information.

We are building experiences to help you better protect your health.

• Using Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) guidance, our Alexa team built an India-specific experience that lets you use Alexa to check your symptoms for COVID-19 at home. Ask, "Alexa, what do I do if I think I have coronavirus?", "Alexa, how do I know if I have coronavirus?", or “Alexa, Kya mujhe coronavirus hai?”. Alexa will ask a series of questions and provide ICMR and Ministry of Health guidance given your risk level and symptoms.
• You can now ask Alexa to sing a song for 20 seconds, and she’ll help you keep time while you scrub your hands with a tune. Just ask “Alexa, sing a song for 20 seconds” or “Alexa, sing the 20 second song”.

Alexa can now answer questions related to COVID-19, and we are working to provide accurate and timely information from news and official government source such as Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) in India.

• For the latest news, customers can ask “Alexa, what is the coronavirus update?”, or use Alexa skills of news providers such as NDTV and Aaj Tak. Just say "Alexa, play the news."
• You can also ask questions such as “Alexa, what is the coronavirus status in India?”, “Alexa, how many coronavirus cases have reported in Maharashtra?”, and “Alexa, what essential services are available during lockdown?".

Bangalore City Police Alexa Skill launched to answer queries on safety measures during quarantine

• Use the Bangalore City Police Alexa skill to ask questions on what you can and cannot do during the lockdown, numbers to call during various emergency situations, and generic questions ranging from curfew pass to availability of medicines. Enable the skill and say "Alexa, open Bangalore city police" or "Alexa, open Bengaluru city police" to get started. You can ask questions such as "Alexa, what is the Medical Helpline number?", “Alexa, what kind of shops are open?”, “Alexa, is delivery of gas cylinders affected by the lockdown?” and so on.

• Donate meals to those in need by asking Alexa: While the country is gripped by the COVID-19 crisis, many people are in need of basic essentials such as food and shelter. We have partnered with Akshaya Patra to launch an ‘Essentials Box’ donation program where an Amazon customer can place a pre-paid order for the essentials box. Each box contains basic non-perishable grocery items like rice, dal and sugar. Amazon Echo customers can now contribute to this good cause by just asking Alexa. Say “Alexa, donate essentials box” to add the box to your Amazon shopping cart and complete purchase using Amazon Pay by saying “Alexa, order it now”. Each box costs ₹200, serves up to 20 meals and will be delivered directly to Akshaya Patra. You can read more about the essentials box here.

• Alexa can now help you make donations to PM Cares fund, HelpAge India, Akshaya Patra Foundation., Habitat for Humanity and many other NGOs. These NGOs are working directly to provide aid for people affected because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just say “Alexa, Donate now” OR “Alexa, I want to contribute to fight coronavirus” on your Echo and Fire TV devices. You will receive a SMS and a notification on your mobile phone with a link of the donation page (www.amazon.in/alexa-donate) where you can select the charity and complete the transaction.
• Keep in touch with family and friends in this time of crisis: You can use Alexa video calling to stay connected to friends and family near or far using compatible Echo devices, the Alexa app, or Skype. Just say, "Alexa, call Megha." You can also use Drop In to check on elders in the family throughout the day. Simply say, "Alexa, drop in on Mom."

We—like many of you—are looking for things to do at home with our families and loved ones. We have been working quickly to provide easy access to educational and entertaining content across Amazon devices and services. Families everywhere can now stream free audio stories in six languages from Audible, more than 50 kid-friendly shows from Prime Video, and access free digital books across all genres.

• Learn English with Alexa: Pearson India has introduced an interactive skill on Amazon Alexa for students and learners of all age groups to learn English. The Pearson MyPedia skill offers a collection of engaging stories coupled with fun facts, trivia, quizzes and rewards. The interactive format of the skill can help improve English vocabulary, listening, speaking, comprehension, and storytelling. To get started say “Alexa, open MyPedia”, or simply “Alexa, I want to learn English”. As students spend more time at home in the current lockdown situation, the MyPedia Alexa skill can help them make the most of this unique learning environment.

• #AtHome on Fire TV

TV at home has become the mainstay for movies, TV shows, kids’ entertainment, and latest news in these uncertain times. With Fire TV, you can find the a variety of entertainment content from every popular service, educational content for kids, popular news channels, and even games and apps. To help customers get the most out of their devices during this time, we have recently launched a new feature called #AtHome on Fire TV. #AtHome is a curated experience that brings together a vast range of content to help users and their family members be entertained, educated, and informed. With this new launch, customers can access dedicated features and content including top News, Fitness, Gaming, Learning apps and donations using Alexa. In addition, customers will find curated rows promoting Kids & Family Entertainment and Cooking related content from across apps on Fire TV.

We had earlier announced that Amazon is offering a selection of shows and films for free. The #AtHome page will conveniently surface Free Video on Demand (FVOD) content for customers who do not have a Prime subscription, and provide dedicated experiences for Prime and non-Prime customers.

Go try it out on your Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Edition TVs now.

• Listen to Harry Potter's magical story with Alexa: Just say, “Alexa, read Harry Potter Book One” to listen to the first novel in J.K. Rowling’s beloved series for free. Audible and Pottermore Publishing are pleased to offer this free Alexa listening opportunity in the India, U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, for a limited period. You can listen to the book on the Amazon Echo smart speakers, Echo Show smart displays, and even the Alexa app for smartphones. You can also read the book for free on your Kindle or the Kindle mobile app.

• Live stream One World: Together At Home on Prime Video App, Fire TV and Echo Show: On Sunday, April 19 at 5:00 a.m. India time, tune into Global Citizen’s “One World: Together At Home” global broadcast, streaming for free on Prime Video, to support frontline healthcare works and the World Health Organization. To watch the broadcast live on Fire TV Stick and Echo Show, just say “Alexa, search for One World: Together At Home.” The event will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert, and will feature appearances, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and more. Additionally, this digital broadcast will be available on Prime Video for 72 hours after the show so that users who missed it live can watch it on the Prime Video app, Fire TV Stick and Echo Show.

• Free eBooks on Kindle: We have made a selection of featured books for children, select books for adults across various genres like literature and fiction, health body and mind as well as timeless Classics, free to read. These eBooks are available across English, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati and Malayalam languages. You can access and read these free eBooks on the free Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, PC and Mac, and Kindle E-readers. You can also access these books on your Echo devices by asking "Alexa, read my book from Kindle". Browse the full selection of titles available for free in India.

• Select family, kids content free on Prime Video: As India pledges to #Stayhome amidst COVID-19, a selection of kids content (over 50 shows) is now available free to watch on Prime Video for all Amazon customers. This includes our Amazon Original kids’ series and select popular third-party kids shows (in cooperation with several of our content partners). To access the free kids and family content on Prime Video, families don’t need a Prime membership, just an Amazon account. You can find the full selection of titles available for free in India here.

• Voot’s content library spanning across 70,000+ hours of exciting content across genres, languages and audiences and includes TV shows from Colors Hindi, MTV, Colors Infinity, Colors Telugu, Colors Tamil, Colors Kannada, Colors Marathi, Colors Bangla, Colors Gujarati, and Comedy Central
• MX Player has 100,000 hours+ of free movies, TV shows, web-series & originals.
• Jio Cinema has 100,000+ hours of free on-demand content: Movies, TV Shows, Originals, Music videos, Clips, Trailers & more in Hindi, English, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Punjabi & dubbed content. Available exclusively to Jio SIM users
• nexGTv provides free access to 100+ Live Indian TV channels
• Aha TV has 20,000+ hours of free Telugu content that includes web series and movies

As we continue to practice social distancing in an effort to contain the Coronavirus, one member at home who is ever-present for help during these times is Alexa. Accessible across all Alexa-enabled devices, including Echo smart speakers and smartphones, Amazon’s voice assistant has some creative ways to keep you and your family engaged, active and informed during the lockdown.

Visit any of these pages to learn new things you can ask Alexa 'Meet Alexa', 'Alexa Skills' and 'Things to try with Alexa'. Alternatively, the 'Things to try' section in the Alexa app on your smartphone is also a great place to start exploring.