Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings said the company is on track to spend US$420.5 million on original and licensed Indian content this year and in 2020, TechCrunch.com reported.

Hastings was speaking Dec. 6 at a New Delhi conference, where he said that given the competition, "unrivaled levels of investment" are going into producing Indian content by global players. An industry source said that no streaming platform in India is spending anything close to the figure on just content as Netflix.

The investment comes as the company tries to fend off competition from rival streaming platforms in India, which include Walt Disney Co.'s Hotstar. An earlier report said Walt Disney is making Disney+ available in India through Hotstar in 2020.

Netflix, which entered India in 2016, has so far created over two dozen original shows and films in the country. In the financial year that ended March, the company posted a revenue of US$65 million and profit of about $720,000 for its India business, according to the report.