India green IT and sustainability spending to reach $29.2 billion In 2013

ewaste recycling

Policy initiatives and regulatory measures from the Government of India will be the key drivers for implementing some of the green IT initiatives in India in the coming years, says Gartner.

Gartner’s research, Hype Cycle for Green IT and Sustainability in India, 2013, finds that India’s spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives will reach $29.2 billion in 2013 a 17.6 percent increase from $24.8 billion that was spent in 2012.

Appropriate measures from the government will drive the implementation of some of the technologies such as advanced metering infrastructure, carbon capture and sequestration, intelligent transportation system, and solar energy technology necessary to usher in low-carbon sustainable growth.

While businesses and investors in India are slowly waking up to green and sustainability issues, policymakers in the government are clearly pushing for changes that will likely set the tone for green and sustainable, low-carbon economic growth in the country in the coming years.

ewaste recycling

“Many Indian organizations 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, research director at Gartner.

A few leading organizations in the country are beginning to implement green IT and sustainability solutions and 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 organization’s sustainability and green IT vision, the research said.

However, the research says that the unique challenges faced by India, such as an unreliable power infrastructure, a growing urban-rural divide and increasing population migration to urban areas, will also provide businesses there with the opportunity to innovate and test new cost-effective approaches and green technology solutions that may then be adapted elsewhere — in other developing, or even developed nations.

In the 2013 Hype Cycle for Green IT and Sustainability in India, Gartner has included six new technology areas and profiled 41 technologies in all.

The new technologies added to this year’s Hype Cycle include hybrid electric vehicles, microgrids, machine-to-machine communication services, liquefied natural gas, biomass electricity and wind power generation.

The biggest mover in the 2013 Hype Cycle is solar energy technology, which moved ahead by 17 positions into the Slope of Enlightenment “mainly as more state governments joined the solar energy bandwagon with specific policies and incentives to attract investments, and as new projects are commissioned,” said Mr Ramamoorthy.

Similarly, the recent policy and regulations announcement by the Indian government with regards to e-waste handling (recycling and disposal) has heightened the hype around this set of technologies, leading Gartner to push this particular technology to the peak of the Hype Cycle.

Gartner expects Indian organizations to frame their strategy for e-waste handling in line with the government regulations, leading to mainstream adoption over the next five to 10 years.

picture source: forbesindia.com

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