Cloud, Data Centres and the Politics of Infrastructure
Pradip Ninan Thomas · 2024
The platform economy is fundamentally dependent on cloud and data infrastructures. While the GoI has invested in its own cloud initiative – Meghna – both public and private data flows have been captured by Big Tech and in particular AWS Amazon, Microsoft Azure and others. This reality suggests that the prospects for Made in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat are difficult precisely because of the deep presence of Big Tech in India. The Government of Telangana’s policy on data management is highlighted as an example of data management that is explicitly reliant on Big Tech. The chapter highlights the preferential treatment given to cloud and data centre investors, issues with real estate, the skirting of environmental legislations and the long-term consequences of such sops. It includes a conversation with critical infrastructure theory.