India’s data centre industry is witnessing rapid expansion, with live IT capacity quadrupling over the past six years to reach 1.7 GW, driven by growing demand for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital infrastructure.
The country has also built a substantial development pipeline, with around 1.3 GW of data centre capacity currently under construction and another 3.2 GW of projects having secured the required land, power and regulatory approvals. The strong availability of energy infrastructure and fibre connectivity is helping position India as a major data centre destination in the Asia-Pacific region.
Maharashtra continues to lead India’s data centre market, accounting for approximately 55% of the country’s live IT capacity. The state also holds the largest pipeline of approved projects, supported by strong enterprise demand, cloud infrastructure, subsea cable connectivity and an established ecosystem of data centre developers.
The next phase of expansion is expected to extend across Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, where companies are announcing major investments and new hyperscale infrastructure projects.
Investment commitments are also accelerating. Domestic conglomerates have announced significant investments in data centre development, while global hyperscalers are expanding their presence to support rapidly growing AI and cloud workloads. A large share of the announced investments is focused on developing hyperscale AI campuses.
The rapid growth of the sector will significantly increase India’s electricity requirements. According to BloombergNEF projections highlighted in the report, data centre electricity demand could rise more than eightfold to 91 TWh by 2035, compared with 11 TWh in 2025. This creates a growing need for stronger generation capacity, transmission infrastructure, renewable energy procurement and reliable energy storage solutions.
As hyperscale facilities move closer to their net-zero targets, renewable electricity is expected to play an increasingly important role in powering India’s expanding digital economy. However, the pace of transmission development will be critical to ensuring that large data centre projects can access reliable power without creating infrastructure bottlenecks.
The expansion also brings attention to sustainable cooling and water management, particularly in water-stressed cities such as Chennai and Bengaluru. While many Indian facilities currently rely on air-based cooling systems, future data centre development will require careful planning around energy efficiency, water use and climate resilience.
India’s AI and cloud boom is therefore creating not only a massive digital infrastructure opportunity but also a significant new demand centre for renewable energy, transmission networks and energy storage. How effectively these supporting systems scale will play a key role in determining the sustainability of the country’s rapidly growing data centre ecosystem.
Key Highlights
- India’s live data centre IT capacity has reached 1.7 GW, quadrupling in six years.
- Around 1.3 GW is under construction, with another 3.2 GW ready for development.
- Maharashtra accounts for about 55% of India’s live IT capacity.
- Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh are expected to drive the next phase of growth.
- Data centre electricity demand could increase from 11 TWh in 2025 to 91 TWh by 2035.
- AI, cloud computing and hyperscale campuses are becoming major drivers of new power, transmission, renewable energy and storage demand.
