India's data centre capacity likely to surge 40 pc annually to 12 GW by 2030: Report
New Delhi, July 27
India's operational data centre capacity is likely to rise from 2.2 GW in 2025 to 12 GW by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 40 per cent, a report said on Monday.
AI-dedicated capacity is expected to expand nearly 24-fold over the same period, rising from 275 MW to 6,546 MW, driven by demand from hyperscale cloud providers, enterprise digitalisation and artificial intelligence, the report from Wood Mackenzie said.
"India's data centre market is entering a structural growth phase that positions the country as one of Asia-Pacific's most attractive infrastructure investment opportunities," the firm noted.
India's digital economy was valued at Rs 32 trillion in 2025, contributing approximately 12 per cent of GDP, and serves more than 1.03 billion active internet users and processes about 22 billion UPI transactions each month.
Meanwhile, India's domestic AI market is projected to reach Rs 11.7 trillion by 2032, further increasing demand for high-performance computing infrastructure.
"India's data centre market becomes a structural investment thesis. The convergence of hyperscale capital, AI workload growth and a decade of policy support have created the conditions for India to rival any market in Asia-Pacific. The question for developers and investors is no longer whether to enter India, but where and how," said Souhardya Pal, Research Associate at Wood Mackenzie.
The report noted that reliable, cost-competitive power has become the defining factor in data centre development, overtaking land and capital as the industry's primary constraint.
Data centre electricity demand is expected to grow 20-fold by 2040 from 10 TWh in 2025 and would account for 7 per cent of the total electricity demand.
While Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu currently account for around 65 per cent of installed IT load, the firm expects the next phase of investment to also expand across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
These emerging markets are attracting significant commitments from global hyperscalers, including Amazon Web Services and Google, alongside domestic operators such as AdaniConnex, which has announced a development pipeline of 2.6 GW.
— IANS
Reader Comments
So the data centre capacity is going up 5x in 5 years? That's insane growth! 🌟 With UPI doing 22 billion transactions every month, we clearly need this infrastructure. But I worry about water usage - data centres need a lot of cooling. In a water-stressed country like India, we need innovative cooling solutions.
Good to see states like Andhra and UP getting attention too, not just Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. But I hope the benefits reach local communities - jobs for local youth and not just imported talent. Also, 7% of total electricity demand by 2040 is huge. We need to fix our power distribution before that.
Impressive numbers! As someone who works in tech, I can see why global companies are investing here. India's digital infrastructure is improving rapidly. But the report says power is becoming the main constraint - that's a real challenge. We need more investment in transmission lines and smart grids.
This is all well and good, but what about cybersecurity? More data centres mean more data, and we need stronger laws to protect people's privacy. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act is a start, but enforcement needs to be robust. Also, I hope these centres create real jobs for Indian engineers. 🤔
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