India’s data centre capacity rises to 1.57 GW, projected to reach 8 GW by 2030
India’s data centre power capacity has grown from 375 MW in 2020 to 1.57 GW in August 2026 and is projected to approach 8 GW by 2030 amid rising demand
India’s data centre ecosystem is entering a phase of rapid expansion, with installed data centre power capacity rising from around 375 MW in 2020 to 1.57 GW as of August 2026 and projected to reach nearly 8 GW by 2030, according to a government backgrounder on the sector.
NEW DELHI: India’s data centre ecosystem is entering a phase of rapid expansion, with installed data centre power capacity rising from around 375 MW in 2020 to 1.57 GW as of August 2026 and projected to reach nearly 8 GW by 2030, according to a government backgrounder on the sector.
The expansion is being driven by the rapid growth of India’s digital economy, including online banking, e-governance, digital payments, cloud computing and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Data centres provide the computing, storage, networking, power, cooling and security infrastructure needed to deliver these services continuously and at scale.
The government document said investments of nearly $70 billion are already underway in India’s data centre sector, while another $90 billion in projects have been announced, underlining the scale of the anticipated expansion and investor interest.
Hyderabad among major data centre locations
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has established state-of-the-art National Data Centres at its headquarters in Delhi as well as in Pune, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar. NIC has also established 37 smaller data centres at various state capitals to support government digital services.
The government backgrounder identifies Mumbai/Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR/Noida among the major operational data centre locations. The accompanying city-wise chart puts operational capacity at 790 MW in Mumbai/Navi Mumbai, 305 MW in Chennai, 182 MW in Bengaluru, 152 MW in Hyderabad and 76 MW in Delhi-NCR/Noida.
Policy support for data centre growth
Data centres were included in the Harmonized List of Infrastructure in the Union Budget 2022-23, giving the sector infrastructure status and facilitating greater access to credit for digital infrastructure.
The Union Budget 2026-27 also introduced a tax holiday for eligible foreign cloud service providers until 2047 for global operations using India-based data centre infrastructure. The incentive covers tax years 2026-27 to 2046-47 for notified foreign companies.
The data centre ecosystem is also being supported by linked programmes such as Semicon India 2.0, the IndiaAI Mission, the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme and PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware. The government document notes that these initiatives are intended to strengthen semiconductor and hardware manufacturing, develop the AI ecosystem and increase domestic capabilities in areas such as servers.
Energy and water efficiency become critical
The rapid expansion of data centres is also increasing the importance of energy and resource efficiency. According to the Central Electricity Authority, data centre electricity demand could reach 17 GW by 2031-32. The government is promoting renewable energy through measures including Green Energy Open Access Rules, the Green Energy Corridor Scheme and the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act is also positioned as supporting the clean-power ecosystem, including reliable nuclear power for emerging sectors such as AI and data centres, with provision for future deployment of Small Modular Reactors and Micro Nuclear Reactors.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has developed data centre efficiency standards covering Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE), Cooling Efficiency Ratio (CER) and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE). Advanced cooling technologies, including direct-to-chip liquid cooling, adiabatic cooling, immersion cooling and closed-loop liquid cooling, are also emerging as resource-efficient solutions.
Building India’s digital infrastructure
The government backgrounder describes data centres as a foundational layer of India’s digital economy, with their importance extending beyond computing capacity to data sovereignty, digital trust, economic competitiveness and technological self-reliance.
As cloud and AI infrastructure expands, the document stresses the need to balance technological growth with cybersecurity, responsible data practices, sustainability, accountability and efficient resource management. It also calls for stronger domestic capabilities across computing, semiconductors, energy and other critical digital infrastructure as India advances towards Viksit Bharat by 2047.
