Despite the economic challenges faced globally, the Asia Pacific region, with its rich diversity and home to nearly 4.5 billion people, remains the “biggest driver of global growth in 2023, said senior public sector industry leader.
Delivery the keynote address at AWS Public Sector Symposium in New Delhi, Rahul Sharma, Regional Managing Director, APJ, Public Sector, Amazon Web Services (AWS), said: “Asia Pacific is an incredibly diverse region, home to nearly 4.5 billion people who speak thousands of languages. Despite global economic challenges, we are still seeing growth in the region. It is the world's most dynamic region, and the biggest driver of global growth in 2023.”
Highlighting the technological strides, he stated, “Governments across APJ are rapidly accelerating the delivery and modernisation of citizen services using the cloud. “This approach fosters faster innovation and increased agility.”
As part of this digital trajectory, Sharma praised the bold vision shown by public sector customers across the APJ region. Notably, he underscored the leadership India's public sector exhibited in “innovating and exporting its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).”
“Cloud computing is key to building scalable, secure, and resilient DPI,” Sharma remarked, adding that AWS has actively collaborated with government and public sector bodies to foster a citizen-centric and innovative DPI.
Diving deeper into AWS's investments in the Asian Pacific landscape, Sharma shared that AWS boasts of 10 regions, 22 Edge locations, 5 Local Zones, with an addition of 4 upcoming Local Zones. Specifically zeroing in on India, he mentioned that AWS has made monumental investments to “accelerate innovation, enhance productivity, and stimulate economic growth.”
He further elaborated on AWS's contributions in India, “Our investment in APJ and particularly in India significantly impacts the GDP. By constructing and managing world-class data centres in India, AWS has pioneered innovation, enhanced productivity, and cultivated a digitally-skilled workforce.”
Highlighting AWS's continued commitment to India's technological landscape, Sharma said, “In May 2023, AWS announced an investment of $12.7 billion in India by 2030, potentially supporting 131,700 full-time jobs. By 2030, AWS's long-term commitment in India will reach a staggering Rs 1,36,500 crores ($16.4 billion).”
Delving into the specifics of AWS's infrastructure, Sharma indicated that there are two primary AWS data center regions in India, namely in Mumbai (launched in 2016) and Hyderabad (launched in November 2022). Remarkably, in 2022, “both AWS Regions in India were among 19 AWS Regions globally that operated with 100% renewable energy.”
A major announcement at the Delhi Symposium was that AWS India received CSP empanelment from MeitY for its cloud services from the AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) Region. Sharma stressed, “This is the second AWS Region in India to be fully empanelled by MeitY.” Such an initiative provides public sector organisations and financial entities more options to access secure cloud infrastructure.
Furthermore, Sharma was keen to highlight AWS's environmental goals, “AWS is on a trajectory to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. In India, since September 2022, we've invested in six utility-scale projects with over 920MW capacity.”
Sharma also touched upon AWS's commitment to becoming water positive by 2030. He elaborated on AWS's collaboration with NGOs Water Aid and Water.org to enhance access to clean water in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
Sharma emphasised AWS's dedication to capacity building and skill development across the Asia Pacific. Highlighting programs like AWS Academy, AWS Educate, AWS Skill Builder, and AWS re/Start, Sharma stated that AWS has trained “more than 4 million people in India with cloud skills since 2017.”
