Sudden Growth in Data Demand
Demand for data is rising aggressively in India. To meet that, India needs to build many new data centers. International and local firms are investing big in the sector. India's data center capacity will double to 2027 and fivefold by 2030, said a new Macquarie Equity Research report. The "Racks to Riches" report signals the rapidly changing digital infrastructure of the nation.
Current and Planned Capacity
- India presently has data centers with a combined capacity of 1.4 gigawatts (GW). An additional 1.4 GW is under development, and 5 GW of capacity are in the pipeline.
- These developments are driven by increasing mobile data consumption, popularity of over-the-top (OTT) players, and enhanced use of cloud technology.
- Regulations for data localization also require that data be stored and processed locally within India.
- Government aid, business-friendly environment, and strong infrastructure are all driving more investment.
- The data center sector will take investments of $30–45 billion (₹2.64–3.96 lakh crore) during the coming years.
Big Investment in Visakhapatnam
Google has invested heavily in India's data center space. The tech giant will establish an AI Infrastructure Hub in Visakhapatnam at a cost of $15 billion (₹1.32 lakh crore) with the Adani Group.
The center will be a gigawatt-scale data center and will be Google's largest data center outside the US. The project is expected to be completed in five years.
Other large players are also investing heavily in this domain.
- TCS is investing $6.5 billion (₹57,200 crore).
- Jio will build an AI data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat, where Meta and Google will have an interest in the project.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced a $13 billion (₹1.14 lakh crore) investment to drive its cloud infrastructure in India.
Expansion of Existing Data Centers
Some Indian and foreign organizations already have large data centers in the country.
- Microsoft India is opening new centers in Hyderabad.
- Control S Data Centers of Hyderabad has opened up facilities in some northern cities.
- Others which are currently operating in this field include NTT Global, Nextra, Sify Technologies, and STT GDC India.
Currently, Sify Technologies operates 14 data centers in India. The collective strength of these firms is contributing significantly towards the overall data center infrastructure of India.
