Amazon’s AWS to invest $12.7 billion in India by 2030
Amazon plans to invest $12.7 billion in its cloud business in India by 2030, the e-commerce group said Thursday, as it pushes to scale up its AWS infrastructure in its key foreign market at a time when it has scaled back several other services in the region.
The US giant, which previously invested $3.7 billion on AWS infrastructure in India and currently maintains two data center regions in the South Asian market, said its spending will support 131,700 full-time jobs across roles such as engineering, telecommunications and construction.
Thursday’s announcement is a notable escalation in AWS’ initial strategy. The cloud giant had previously said it will invest $4.4 billion on AWS in the South Asian economy.
India, the world̵[ads1]7;s second largest internet market, has witnessed a significant increase in cloud adoption across various industries in recent years, reflecting the sector’s robust growth. Amazon’s cloud division has a dominant position in the market, boasting a list of prominent clients such as the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Axis Bank, HDFC Life, BankBazaar, Niti Aayog, PhysicsWallah and Acko.
Google, which also has two cloud regions in India, and Microsoft, which has three, have also expanded their cloud operations in the country in recent years. The total India market for public cloud services is expected to reach $13 billion by 2026, according to researcher IDC.
“AWS is committed to driving positive social and economic impact in India. In addition to building cloud infrastructure and helping local customers and partners digitally transform, we have trained more than four million people in India with cloud skills since 2017, and invested in six utility-scale renewable energy projects to meet our global 100% renewable energy goal by 2025,” Puneet Chandok, president of commercial operations at AWS India and South Asia, said in a statement.
The planned AWS investment will help create “more beneficial spillovers, supporting India on its path to becoming a global digital powerhouse,” he added.
India is an important overseas market for Amazon, where over $6.5 billion has flowed into the country’s e-commerce over the past decade. The tripling of AWS investments also exceeds the company’s spending in – and commitments to – its e-commerce business.
The announcement also comes as Amazon closes a number of businesses in India, a move that prompted several analysts to question whether the US giant was scaling back its presence in the country. Walmart, Amazon’s global rival, has also spent over $2.5 billion in India this year.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India vision is driving the expansion of cloud and data centers in India,” Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in India, said in a statement.
“The India cloud and the underlying data center infrastructure are important elements of India’s digital infrastructure and ecosystem. I welcome the $12.7 billion Amazon Web Services investment to expand their data centers in India. It will certainly catalyze India’s digital economy. MeitY is also working on a cloud and data center policy to catalyze innovation, sustainability and growth of the India cloud.”
