India’s data centre sector is witnessing strong momentum, with its market size projected to grow from around $10 billion in 2025 to $22 billion by 2030, driven by rising cloud adoption, artificial intelligence workloads, and increasing digital consumption.
A recent industry report highlights sustained investment activity in the sector. Between 2020 and 2024, India attracted $13–15 billion in data centre investments, with foreign institutional investors contributing nearly 80% of the total inflows. Additionally, planned investments worth $60–70 billion over the next 5 years indicate continued interest from hyperscale operators and joint ventures.
Globally, data centre capacity currently stands at 40–50 gigawatts and is expected to cross 100 gigawatts by the end of the decade. In this context, India is emerging as a key destination in the Asia-Pacific region, supported by policy incentives and a rapidly growing digital economy.
India’s current operational capacity is estimated at 1.4–1.6 gigawatts across 164 facilities. Over 700 megawatts is under construction, while another 1–1.2 gigawatts is in the planning stage. Capacity is expected to reach 1.7–2 gigawatts by 2026 and further expand to 4–5 gigawatts by 2030.
The growth is being fueled by a surge in internet users, enterprise cloud adoption, and expanding AI and high-performance computing needs. Increased digital payments, OTT platforms, and 5G rollout have also boosted data consumption, with average monthly wireless usage crossing 25 GB per user.
“India’s data centre sector is rapidly transforming on the back of strong policy support and rising digital demand,” said Shrinivas Rao, CEO at Vestian. He added that incentives such as single-window clearances, tax benefits, and GST advantages are positioning India as a global hub for data centres and AI infrastructure.
India also offers a cost advantage, with construction costs estimated at $6–7 million per megawatt, lower than markets like Singapore and Japan.
Mumbai leads with 49% of operational capacity, followed by Chennai (18%) and NCR (11%). Pune (8%), Bengaluru (7%), and Hyderabad (5%) are emerging as key secondary markets. Cities like Ahmedabad, Kochi, Jaipur, and Visakhapatnam are also gaining traction, with capacity expected to exceed 100 megawatts by 2026.
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