Over $300 billion in investment commitments are expected to accelerate capacity expansion as AI, cloud adoption, data localisation and digitalisation reshape India’s data infrastructure landscape

India’s data centre industry is entering a major expansion phase, with the country’s overall data centre footprint projected to nearly quadruple to 101 million square feet (msf) by 2030, from around 27 msf in the first half of 2026, according to a report by real estate consultancy Anarock.

The sharp increase is expected to be supported by rising cloud adoption, artificial intelligence (AI), growing digital consumption, enterprise digitisation and regulatory requirements around data management. Large technology companies, hyperscalers and infrastructure developers are committing substantial capital to build new facilities across established and emerging markets.

Data Centre Capacity Could Cross 6.7 GW by 2030

India’s data centre capacity is expected to rise to more than 6.7 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, compared with over 1.8 GW in H1 2026. This represents a near-threefold increase in installed capacity over the next four years.

The expansion is being supported by investment commitments exceeding $300 billion, highlighting the growing strategic importance of digital infrastructure.

Among the major projects announced, Google has committed around $15 billion for a data centre in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Colt Data Centre Services-RMZ joint venture has also announced investments of nearly $1.7 billion across Mumbai and Chennai.

Reliance has announced a 168-MW AI-enabled data centre in Jamnagar, which is expected to be leased and used by Meta as its first built-to-suit facility in India.

AI and Cloud Adoption Strengthen Demand

The rapid development of generative AI and cloud-based applications is expected to significantly increase demand for high-capacity computing infrastructure.

India’s expanding digital economy, including digital payments, online services, enterprise software and increasing data consumption, is creating a structural requirement for reliable data storage and processing facilities.

The growing use of AI is particularly important because AI workloads require significantly greater computing power than many traditional applications. This is likely to encourage operators to develop larger facilities with higher power density and advanced cooling systems.

Data Localisation Adds Structural Support

Regulatory developments are also expected to strengthen the domestic data centre market.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, places greater emphasis on secure handling and processing of personal data. According to the Anarock report, data-related regulatory requirements could encourage multinational companies operating in India to maintain domestic infrastructure and increase demand for local data centre capacity.

The sector has also benefited from infrastructure status, which can improve access to longer-term financing. Financing tenures of up to 12 years and interest rates in the range of approximately 9.5-10.5 per cent have supported the development economics of large-scale projects.

A proposed tax holiday extending through 2047 for eligible global cloud service providers could further improve India's attractiveness as a data centre destination.

Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR Emerge as New Growth Markets

While Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Chennai remain the dominant data centre markets, developers are increasingly looking beyond these established hubs.

The two markets benefit from their proximity to major subsea cable routes connecting Europe, West Asia and Asia, making them important connectivity hubs.

However, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru are emerging as important destinations for future capacity.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad could see around 600-700 MW of additional data centre supply by 2030, compared with approximately 178 MW currently.

NTT Global Data Centers is planning nearly 400 MW of capacity, while Tillman Global Holdings is developing plans for a large hyperscale data centre park.

Delhi-NCR

Delhi-NCR could add approximately 500-600 MW of data centre load capacity by 2030, compared with around 179 MW currently.

Yotta Infrastructure is developing a 90-MW facility in Greater Noida, while Anant Raj is targeting an expansion of IT-load capacity across Manesar, Panchkula and Rai in Haryana.

Bengaluru

Bengaluru is also attracting major investments. Prestige Group has partnered with NTT Data to develop a data centre facility with a total capacity of 100 MW, including 67.2 MW of critical IT load.

Real Estate Developers Enter Data Centres

The expected growth is also attracting traditional real estate companies, which are increasingly looking at data centres as a new long-term growth opportunity.

Lodha Group has announced plans to enter the data centre sector using around 400 acres of development-ready land at Palava, Dombivli. The company has secured Amazon Web Services (AWS) and STT Global Data Centres as anchor operators and is targeting around 1 GW of powered-shell capacity.

The company has also signed memorandums of understanding worth approximately ₹1.3 trillion with the Maharashtra government.

India’s Digital Infrastructure Cycle Gathers Pace

The combination of AI adoption, cloud computing, data localisation, digital payments and enterprise digitisation is creating a powerful long-term demand cycle for data centres.

The projected rise from 27 msf to 101 msf by 2030 indicates the scale of infrastructure investment that could take place over the next four years. At the same time, the expansion into cities such as Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR suggests that India's data centre ecosystem is gradually becoming more geographically diversified.

With hyperscalers, technology companies, infrastructure operators and real estate developers committing large amounts of capital, data centres are increasingly emerging as a critical component of India's next phase of digital infrastructure development.