Investment in India's Data Centre Industry
Global hyperscalers and Indian conglomerates are projected to invest over $50 billion in the next five to seven years in India's data centre industry, boosting total capacity from over 1 GW to about 9 GW.
Investment Projections and Capacity Growth
- Real estate firm JLL anticipates a staggered investment of $35-50 billion over seven years, leading to a ninefold increase in capacity.
- Jefferies forecasts a data centre capacity of 8 GW by 2030, driven by data traffic, localisation, and AI, necessitating $30 billion in capex.
- This growth could add $8 billion in leasing revenue over the same period.
Major Investments and Projects
- Google announced a $15-billion investment for the Vizag AI hub, marking one of the largest FDIs in India.
- Amazon Web Services plans an $8.3 billion investment in its Mumbai cloud region, potentially contributing $15.3 billion to GDP and creating 81,300 jobs annually.
- Meta aims to bring the Waterworth subsea cable project to India by 2030 with significant data localisation plans.
Domestic Contributions
- Local companies like Reliance Industries, AdaniConnex, Tata Consultancy Services, and Bharti Airtel are investing in infrastructure to support data needs.
- Such efforts will position India as a rapidly expanding data centre region with a 17% annual growth rate.
Data Consumption Trends
Data usage in India increased from 8 exabytes in FY17 to 229 exabytes in FY25, primarily due to OTT platforms, digital payments, social media, and e-commerce.
Future Potential and Challenges
- India has the potential to offer an additional 5 GW of data centre capacity, aligning with Southeast Asia's AI infrastructure needs, requiring around $150 billion investment.
- Global trends indicate data centres for AI processing are located at remote sites for cost efficiency and expansion potential.
- Ind-Ra notes 60% of planned expansions in India are in early stages, with power infrastructure expansion crucial for future growth.
