AWS Outage and the Risks of Cloud Centralisation

• 25 Oct 2025

For Prelims: Amazon Web Services, Cloud Computing, MeghRaj, National Informatics Centre, National Knowledge Network 

For Mains: Significance of cloud computing for digital governance in India, Risks of centralization in cloud services and systemic vulnerabilities 

 Source: IE 

Why in News?  

 A recent outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) disrupted over 1,000 global online services, including messaging apps and government portals, highlighting the risks of centralised cloud providers. 

What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)? 

• About: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the cloud computing division of Amazon, launched in 2006. It provides on-demand IT infrastructure such as computing power, data storage, databases, analytics, and networking tools. 
  • Instead of maintaining their own physical servers, companies rent computing resources from AWS data centres located across the world. 
  • It follows a “pay-as-you-go” model, offering scalability and cost efficiency. 
• Significance of AWS: AWS is the world’s largest cloud provider, ahead of Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. 
  • Many critical applications, financial systems, and digital services rely on AWS for hosting and data management, any failure in AWS can lead to widespread service disruptions, affecting communication, finance, governance, and entertainment sectors simultaneously. 
• Causes of AWS Outage: AWS identified a Domain Name System(DNS) resolution failure in its DynamoDB service endpoints hosted in its North Virginia data center as the primary cause. 
  • The DNS acts like the Internet’s address book, converting website names into IP addresses that computers use to find and connect to servers.  
    • If this system fails, browsers can’t locate the right server, leading to websites or apps becoming slow, inaccessible, or showing error messages. 
  • DynamoDB service endpoints are connection points to AWS’s database. 
    • The DNS issue blocked access to these endpoints, disrupting many apps and services globally. 

What is Cloud Computing? 

• Definition: Cloud computing is a model for delivering information technology services where computing resources such as storage, processing power, databases, and applications are provided over the Internet instead of being hosted on local servers.  
  • Users can access these resources on-demand, without owning or managing the physical infrastructure. 
• Cloud Computing Models: 

Model	Definition	Example
SaaS (Software as a Service)	Software delivered over the Internet; no installation or maintenance required.	Google Docs, Hotmail, Microsoft Office 365
PaaS (Platform as a Service)	Platform for developers to build, deploy, and manage apps without managing underlying hardware or OS.	Google App Engine
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)	Virtualized computing resources (servers, storage, networking) provided on-demand.	Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure
XaaS (Anything/Everything as a Service)	Comprehensive model combining multiple cloud services, including software, platforms, and infrastructure.	Cloud service bundles from major providers
FaaS (Function as a Service)	Event-driven serverless computing; runs code only when triggered, no server management required.	Google Cloud Functions

 

What is the Significance of Cloud Computing for India? 

• Robust Digital Infrastructure: Cloud computing strengthens India’s IT backbone through National Data Centres (NDCs) and regional centres, supporting large-scale storage, disaster recovery, and high-performance computing. 
• Boosting E-Governance: Platforms like MeghRaj and National Informatics Centre (NIC) Cloud Services enable fast deployment and management of government applications, making services efficient, scalable, and reliable. 
  • Cloud platforms like GovDrive and e-Office under the National E-Governance Plan ensure coordinated workflows, data security, and enable paperless administration. 
• Financial and Social Inclusion: Digital identity (Aadhaar), payment systems (Unified Payments Interface (UPI)), and platforms like DigiLocker improve accessibility, transparency, and inclusion across socio-economic groups through Cloud services. 
  • Common Services Centres (CSCs) leverage cloud to provide 800+ government services to rural populations, bridging the digital divide. 
• Accessible Public Services: Citizen-centric platforms such as UMANG, e-Hastakshar, and DIKSHA facilitate seamless delivery of education, health, and administrative services across India. 
• Economic Growth and Innovation: Reduces infrastructure costs, supports startups and SMEs, and accelerates India’s digital economy by providing scalable and on-demand IT resources. 
• Global Leadership: India’s cloud-enabled initiatives, including National Knowledge Network (NKN) and India Stack, showcase digital solutions that can be adopted by other nations, especially in the Global South, positioning India as a leader in scalable digital services. 

How does Cloud Centralisation Risk Digital Sovereignty and Resilience? 

• Systemic Risk to Critical Infrastructure: Centralised clouds host essential services like banking, healthcare, and government portals. Any failure can disrupt national operations and public services 
• Digital Sovereignty Concerns: Over-reliance on foreign cloud providers risks control over sensitive national data, affecting policy autonomy and strategic decision-making. 
• Barrier to Innovation for Smaller Players: Dominance of a few providers can stifle local tech ecosystems and reduce opportunities for startups or domestic cloud alternatives. 
• Geopolitical Vulnerabilities: Outages or policy changes by global providers can impact countries differently, making them susceptible to external pressures or sanctions. 
• Hidden Economic Dependencies: Cloud providers’ pricing power and market control can increase operational costs for businesses and governments, creating indirect economic risks. 

What Measures India can Take to Build Resilient Cloud Infrastructure? 

• Multi-Cloud Adoption: Government agencies should expand implementation of  multi-cloud strategies to avoid over-dependence on a single provider, reducing systemic risks. 
  • Mandate replication, backup, and failover mechanisms for all government cloud workloads to ensure continuity during outages. 
• Domestic Data Centres: Promote the expansion of Tier-II and Tier-III domestic data centres to ensure regional redundancy and local control. 
• Data Localisation & Sovereignty: Enforce data localisation norms for sensitive government and citizen data to prevent exposure to foreign jurisdiction risks. 
• Strengthening MeghRaj & NIC Cloud: Expand National Cloud capacity to support critical public services and e-governance platforms like DigiLocker, e-Office, and GovDrive. 
• Skill Development & Capacity Building: Train cloud administrators in resilient architecture, threat mitigation, and disaster recovery planning. 

Conclusion 

Cloud computing powers India’s digital services, but outages like AWS show the risks of centralization. Multi-cloud strategies, domestic data centres, and skilled workforce are key for resilient infrastructure. 

Drishti Mains Question: 

Q. Evaluate the challenges and risks associated with centralised cloud providers for critical national infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. What is cloud computing? 

Delivery of IT resources (storage, computing, apps) over the internet without managing physical servers. 

2. What is MeghRaj and its significance in India? 

MeghRaj is India’s national cloud initiative providing scalable Information and Communication Technology  services to government departments, enhancing e-governance and efficient service delivery. 

3. How does cloud computing contribute to financial and social inclusion in India? 

Platforms like Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker leverage cloud services to provide accessible, transparent, and scalable services across socio-economic groups. 

 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs) 

Prelims 

Q. With reference to "Software as a Service (SaaS)", consider the following statements:  (2022)

1. SaaS buyers can customise the user interface and can change data fields. 
2. SaaS users can access their data through their mobile devices. 
3. Outlook, Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail are forms of SaaS. 

Which of the statements given above are correct? 

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: D