Maharashtra Hosts 66% of India's Data Centre Capacity, Aims for Global Hub

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the 7th CII Datacenter Blueprint Summit 2026 in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Dhavse highlighted the state's dominant role in the country's digital infrastructure ecosystem.

"Maharashtra is currently the country leader when it comes to data centres. About 66 per cent of India's data centre capacity is based out of Maharashtra, predominantly in Navi Mumbai, Pune, Thane, little bit in Nagpur, little bit in Nashik and then Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar," Dhavse said.

He attributed the state's leadership to its strategic advantages, including connectivity infrastructure and power availability.

"We have a very natural advantage because the subsea cable lands here. Secondly, most importantly we are extremely robust on power infrastructure. We also have a very large bouquet of green power and typically anywhere between 3-4 cents which basically means between 4-7 rupees per unit is the landed cost of power," he said.

Calling the sector highly resource-intensive, Dhavse said the state possesses the natural conditions required for the industry's growth.

"So data centre industry is a very power-intensive, water-intensive industry and we have all the natural resources. That is why we are the country leader and eventually I am 100 per cent certain under the leadership of the Chief Minister, we will be one of the top global hubs for data centres in the world," he added.

Dhavse also projected significant growth in capacity in the coming years, stating that Maharashtra alone could reach between 3.9 and 4.8 gigawatts of data centre capacity by 2029.

"Data centers come in different sizes, from 10 megawatts up to one gigawatt. It is very difficult to say how many facilities will be required because some companies are putting in gigawatt-scale data centres while others are building smaller capacities between 40 to 250 megawatts," he said, adding that the state has the policy and infrastructure support required to implement projects on time.

Echoing the strong growth outlook for the sector, Manoj Paul, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Western Region Taskforce on Datacenters for 2025-26, said demand for data centre capacity in India is rising rapidly.

"There is a huge demand for data centre capacity in this country and this demand is only growing. We have grown by 25 per cent CAGR over the last several years, but the next growth is going to be much, much higher, more than what maybe we can meet the requirement," Paul told ANI.

He said India enjoys several advantages including low construction costs, competitive power tariffs and supportive government policies, which are helping accelerate investments in digital infrastructure.

"At present only 0.5 per cent of the total power in India is consumed by data centres, whereas globally the average is about 3 to 4 per cent. So we are well below that average and have a lot of headroom to grow," he said.

Paul also noted that the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have not significantly impacted the sector so far.

"As far as data centres are concerned, as of now there isn't a big impact because most of the equipment does not come through that pathway and we are also not dependent on gas and other things which have got impacted today," he said, adding that companies may increasingly diversify their infrastructure across locations, which could open new opportunities for India.

Maharashtra's Development Commissioner for Industries, Dr Deependra Singh Kushwah, also attended the event where he said the state is planning a massive scale-up of data centre capacity in the coming years.

"Maharashtra is known as the data centre capital of the country. We are hosting almost 60 per cent of the total data centre capacity of the country," Kushwah said.

He added that the state currently has around one gigawatt of capacity and plans to increase this five to ten times over the next five to seven years.

"Currently we are having approximately one gigawatt capacity in Maharashtra and we have signed MoUs for approximately ₹5 lakh crore investment. I am confident that more than 5 gigawatt capacity will be generated by 2030 in terms of data centres in Maharashtra," he said.

He also spoke on the expansion plans for the energy infrastructure in Maharashtra to support the rising demand.

To support the rising demand from data centres, the state government is also planning to significantly expand its energy infrastructure, he stated.

"As a state we will be doubling our power generation and transmission capacity by 2030 and out of that 50 per cent will come from renewable sources. We assure Maharashtra will have sufficient electricity, water and necessary infrastructure required for the data centres," Kushwah added.

- ANI