India's spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives will double from $35 billion in 2010 to $70 billion in 2015. In 2012, green IT and sustainability spending in India will total $45 billion, according to a report by research and advisory firm Gartner.

In its report, ‘Hype Cycle for Green IT and Sustainability in India, 2012,’ Gartner analysts said green IT and sustainability are emerging as key concerns for businesses, investors and technologists across industries and policymakers in India. Though many technologies are available, government policies will eventually drive green IT and sustainability solutions adoption by Indian enterprises.

“For the first time, a chapter on sustainable development and climate change was introduced in the government's annual Indian Economic Survey, 2011-2012. The survey has suggested making lower-carbon sustainable growth a central element of India's 12th Five Year Plan, which commenced in April 2012,” said Ganesh Ramamoorthy, Research Director at Gartner.

“This will set the tone for future policy initiatives and regulatory measures from the Indian government that will drive the implementation of some technologies - such as advanced metering infrastructure, carbon capture and sequestration, intelligent transportation system, solar energy technology, building integrated PV systems, eco-labels and footprints, combined heat and power technology, e-waste, distributed power generation, and water management - necessary to usher in low-carbon sustainable growth,” he added.

As enterprises embrace IT to improve productivity and drive growth, penetration of ICT infrastructure has been growing rapidly during the past decade, as has the energy consumption and resulting carbon emissions of India's ICT infrastructure.

Apart from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, the banking and financial services, hospitality, manufacturing (such as automobiles), pharmaceuticals and other industries that have significant exposure to the export markets, will also join the green IT and sustainability trend early in India.

In other industries, addressing energy, carbon, resource efficiency and sustainable economic development is currently still in the early stages, the report said.

“A few leading organisations in the country are beginning to implement green IT and sustainability solutions and to incorporate them into business operations. However, this is through a piecemeal approach that relies more on the hype surrounding the solutions than on the real benefit of the solution to the organisation's sustainability and green IT vision. Many Indian organisations still lack the strategic focus that comes with a clear understanding of the core issues and key technologies that bring about real change in the vision for sustainability and green IT in an organization,” said Ganesh Ramamoorthy.

>rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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