Amazon’s AWS to invest $12.7 billion in India

Amazon plans to invest $12.7 billion into its cloud infrastructure in India by 2030, the e-commerce group said Thursday, as it pushes ahead to scale up its AWS business in the key overseas market at a time when it has cut several other spendings in the region.

The company, which has earlier invested $3.7 billion for AWS infra in India and currently maintains two data center regions in the South Asian market, said its spendings will support 131,700 full-time jobs across roles such as engineering, telecommunications and construction.

The announcement comes as a surprise, with Amazon reinforcing its commitment by doubling down. Just last year, the company had stated its intention to invest $4.4 billion in AWS for the country by 2030.

Cloud consumption has grown significantly in India in recent years with companies across sectors adopting to it. Amazon’s cloud unit currently leads the market and has amassed a number of major clients in the country including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Axis Bank, HDFC Life, BankBazaar, Niti Aayog, PhysicsWallah and Acko.

“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,” said Puneet Chandok, president of commercial business, AWS India and South Asia, in a statement.

“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. Our planned investment of INR 1,05,600 crores (US $12.7 billion) by 2030 will help create more beneficial ripple effects, supporting India on its path to becoming a global digital powerhouse.”

India is a key overseas market for Amazon, where it has poured over $6.5 billion since entering the country’s e-commerce market in the past decade. Google also has two cloud regions in India whereas Microsoft maintains three.

The announcement arrives amidst Amazon closing numerous businesses in India, prompting several analysts to question whether the American titan was scaling back its presence in the country. Walmart, Amazon’s global rival, has also spent over $2.5 billion in India this year.

“PM Narendra Modi’s Digital India vision is driving expansion of cloud & data centers in India,” said Rajeev Chandrashekhar, minister of state for electronics and information technology, skill development and entrepreneurship in India, in a statement.

“India cloud and the underlying data center infrastructure are important elements of India’s digital infrastructure and ecosystem. I welcome the Amazon Web Services investment of $12.7 billion to expand their data centers in India. It will certainly catalyze India’s digital economy. MeitY is also working on a Cloud & Data Center Policy to catalyze innovation, sustainability, and growth of India cloud.”