Telangana received an early Diwali gift over the weekend as they received the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) ever witnessed in the state’s history. This move was made by Amazon Web Services Inc (AWS), an Amazon.com company which decided to invest close to Rs 20,761 crore to develop multiple data centres in Hyderabad. The state has been emphasising IT and infrastructure growth, and this new investment accentuates both. The purpose of this investment is to create an AWS region with three specific Availability Zones (AZs) in Hyderabad. As per discussions, the AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) region is anticipated to start its operation by 2022. IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao stated, “This investment will be the largest FDI the state has ever attracted in its history and will help to attract other technology-based investments. This investment will further strengthen Amazon’s existing relationship with Telangana as they already host the largest office campus of Amazon”. Furthermore, Rao said he strongly believes that the trust shown by Amazon reinforces the swiftness followed by the State government’s operations and transparency in its system. Rao has played an instrumental role in welcoming this move as he met with AWS officials during his Davos visit during the start of the year. Additionally, he ensured the closure of the investment was conducted in a swift and timely manner. With this investment from Amazon Web Services, Telangana can consider itself to be a preferred destination for similar companies who are looking to set up data centres in the future. Additionally, this initiative will bolster Telangana’s digital economy with its IT sector, noticing a sharp development. Strengthening this belief, Puneet Chandok, President- Commercial Business (Amazon Internet Service, AWS & South Asia) added that “Telangana is among the progressive states of India that have policies specifically focused on the growth of IT and it enabled services companies in India.” Additionally, he mentioned how Hyderabad has recorded the highest growth rate in the IT Sector and is well known for innovative startups and a skilled workforce. With a supportive government, robust policy framework and its ability to best fit the AWS requirements, Hyderabad had to be the best bet. Additionally, this will help in the growth of more startups, businesses, government and education companies to develop their business by serving the end-users from data centres across India. Consequently, such developments also increase operations across various sectors and bring higher employment opportunities to citizens. Moreover, this move will streamline several activities on AWS’s front. Along with AWS Asia Pacific (Mumbai) region, customers can now expect much more flexibility and convenience. AWS Hyderabad region will provide their valued customers with a lower latency across the Southern region of India. Along with this new region and three availability zones, AWS has nine existing AWS regions across India and 26 across Asia. This initiative has received a grand welcome from the government as they look forward to contributing significantly towards AWS’s growth and digital landscape.