Maharashtra govt announces public cloud policy, to create worth $2 Bn business

To give a major boost to the cloud computing industry, Maharashtra government has come up with a public cloud policy and mandated its departments to shift their data storage onto the third-party server.

The move is expected to create the business opportunity worth $2 billion for the industry.

The Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made the announcement at the Maharashtra Technology Summit in Mumbai on Wednesday. The development was first reported by  Business Standard via PTI.

“Today, we have unveiled our public cloud policy and this policy will allow all government departments to have access to the public cloud,” said CM Fadnavis.

The CM said that the policy will result in additional private sector investments as the government is one of the biggest creators and consumers of data. Besides, it will also create a $2-billion opportunity for the industry.

The announcement comes after the Fadnavis government formed a four-member committee to draft a policy framework on cloud usage two months ago, according to the news agency.

The government is now looking forward to partnering with the top service providers. In the next 20 days, five to the six top service providers like Amazon or Microsoft will be empanelled.

However, the government is also concerned about the data security as it will make it mandatory for the data to be stored within the country. It will use public cloud in cases wherever the Right to Information Act is applicable, and then go in for enhanced security features for private and sensitive data.