By 2015, India's spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives will double from $35 billion in 2010 to $70 billion in 2015, according to Gartner Inc.

In the Gartner report "Hype Cycle for Green IT and Sustainability in India, 2011," analysts said green IT and sustainability have found their way into the IT organizations of many industries in India. Although still buzzwords for many, they 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. 

Apart from the ICT industry, the banking and financial services, hospitality, manufacturing (such as automobiles), pharmaceuticals, and other industries that have significant exposure to the 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. However, 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 with the opportunity to innovate and test new cost-effective approaches and green technology solutions. These solutions may then be adapted elsewhere — in other developing, or even developed, nations," said Ramamoorthy.