Union Minister for IT and Electronics Ashwini Vaishnaw has proposed transforming the Andaman and Nicobar Islands into a major global hub for internet data transfer, highlighting the region’s strategic position as a bridge between India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
Speaking at the Bharat AI Shakti event, the Minister said, “Why can’t we make Andaman the next big hub for global Internet data transfer? Andaman can actually help Google and every other Internet-based organization to reach Southeast Asia, Australia, and a large part of the world, which is today looking at totally new capacity.”
Vaishnaw outlined a broader vision to strengthen India’s digital infrastructure, calling for the extension of submarine internet cables from the Andaman Islands to Myanmar and onward to India’s northeastern states. He proposed establishing a cable link from Visakhapatnam to Sittwe in Myanmar to improve regional connectivity.
“The current connectivity that we are providing via the railway networks, the Railtel network, requires significant augmentation. If we can really go via Myanmar to Mizoram… so that we can take the cable up to the northeastern states, because northeastern states require much better connectivity,” the Minister said.
He added that a railway line has already been completed up to Sairang in Mizoram, with plans to extend it to the Myanmar border. A highway connecting Sittwe to the border is also under construction.
The Minister’s proposal coincides with Google’s announcement of a record USD 15 billion investment to build an AI hub in Andhra Pradesh. The project includes a gigawatt-scale data centre in Visakhapatnam, developed in partnership with the Adani Group.
As part of this initiative, Google has partnered with Bharti Airtel to set up a state-of-the-art Cable Landing Station in Visakhapatnam for its new international subsea cables. Airtel will also manage a high-capacity, low-latency fibre network across cities to ensure resilience and support intensive AI workloads across India.
Vaishnaw’s proposal and Google’s investment together signal India’s growing ambition to become a leading global hub for digital infrastructure and AI innovation.
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