AWS plans to invest $12.7B into cloud infra in India
(AWS), the ecommerce giant’s cloud computing unit, on Thursday said it plans to invest $12.7 billion (Rs 1,05,600 crore) into cloud infrastructure in India by 2030 to fulfil rising consumer demand for the cloud in the country.
With this, AWS’ total investment in the country will touch $16.4 billion by 2030, which includes its existing investment of $3.7 billion between 2016 and 2022. During this period, AWS launched two data centre infrastructure regions in India—Mumbai and Hyderabad.
“Since 2016, AWS has invested billions of dollars into cloud infrastructure in India to support the tremendous growth we have witnessed in the use of cloud for digital transformation,” Puneet Chandok, President of Commercial Business, AWS India and South Asia, said in a statement. “AWS is committed to driving positive social and economic impact in India.”
AWS noted that this investment is expected to add $23.3 billion to India’s overall gross domestic product by 2030 and support about 1,31,700 full-time equivalent jobs in Indian firms per year.
The adoption of cloud has increased in India in the last few years, with companies of varying sizes across different sectors switching to cloud. AWS, which is the largest player in the cloud computing space, has customers including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Aarogyasri Health Care Trust, Ashok Leyland, Axis Bank, HDFC Life, and Titan.
“India Cloud and the underlying data centre infrastructure are important elements of India’s digital infrastructure and ecosystem,” Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said, adding that AWS’s investment will catalyse India’s digital economy.
MeitY is also working on a Cloud & Data Centre Policy to catalyse innovation, sustainability, and growth of India Cloud, he noted.
AWS’s plans to double down on its investment in India comes a few weeks after the company witnessed a decline in sales for the fifth straight quarter, with customers across the globe evaluating their cloud expenses amid tough economic conditions.
In a bid to cut costs, Amazon has shuttered some of its businesses during the past year and announced plans to reduce its workforce.
