India's spending on green IT to double by 2015: Report

New Delhi: India's spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives will double from $35 billion currently to $70 billion in 2015 as the have found their way into the IT industry across India, research firm Gartner said Monday. Green IT or green computing is the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems with minimal or no impact on the environment.

The goals of green computing are to reduce the use of hazardous materials, maximize energy efficiency during the product's lifetime, and promote the recyclability or biodegradability of defunct products and factory waste. According to the Gartner report - Hype Cycle for Green IT and Sustainability in India, 2011 - these buzzwords will soon emerge as top priorities for businesses, investors and technology professionals across industries and policymakers in India.

"India's information and communication technology (ICT) industry will be an early adopter of green IT and sustainability solutions as India is one of the fastest-growing markets in terms of IT hardware and communications infrastructure consumption," said Ganesh Ramamoorthy, research director at Gartner. "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," he added.

Apart from the ICT industry, the banking and financial services, hospitality, manufacturing and other industries that have significant exposure to 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.

"Indian businesses will initially start adapting solutions that have been tried and tested in developed nations, but tailored to the Indian market's needs and conditions," said Ramamoorthy. "However, the unique challenges faced by India - such as unreliable power infrastructure, a growing urban-rural divide and increasing population migration to urban areas - will also provide businesses with the opportunity to innovate and test new cost-effective approaches and green technology solutions," he added.