India’s data centre industry is rapidly emerging as a major real estate and infrastructure opportunity, with its footprint projected to exceed 101 million sq ft by 2030, according to a new report by Anarock Capital.
Once considered a niche technology segment, data centres are becoming critical infrastructure for India’s digital economy as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, digital payments, enterprise digitisation and data consumption continue to expand.
According to Anarock Capital’s Data Centre: The Blueprint of The Digital Fortress in India report, India’s data centre footprint has grown from just 0.6 million sq ft in 2007 to nearly 27 million sq ft in H1 2026. The next phase of expansion could add more than 74 million sq ft by 2030.
The sector is expected to be supported by more than $300 billion in investment commitments, highlighting the growing importance of digital infrastructure to India’s economic and technology ambitions.
India’s Data Centre Capacity Could Cross 6.7 GW
The expansion is not limited to physical space.
India’s data centre IT capacity has crossed 1.8 GW as of H1 2026, compared with less than 1 GW only a few years ago. Anarock Capital projects this capacity could rise to more than 6.7 GW by 2030.
That represents more than a threefold increase over the next four years.
The scale of investment reflects multiple structural trends, including:
- Rapid cloud adoption
- Rising data consumption
- Artificial intelligence workloads
- Digital payments
- Enterprise digital transformation
- Demand for secure and resilient infrastructure
Globally, data centre capacity exceeded 92 GW in H1 2026 and is projected to reach more than 210 GW by the end of 2030, alongside global investment commitments estimated at around $3 trillion.
India’s data centre growth is therefore positioning the country among the fastest-expanding markets globally.
Data Centres Are Becoming a Major Real Estate Asset Class
The expansion of data centres is also changing the Indian commercial real estate landscape.
Unlike conventional office or industrial properties, data centres require a combination of large land parcels, high power availability, advanced cooling systems, reliable connectivity and operational resilience.
Shobhit Agarwal, CEO of Anarock Capital, said the projected 101 million sq ft footprint demonstrates the physical scale of the opportunity while highlighting the specialised nature of data centre assets.
The growth is expected to generate demand across an ecosystem that includes:
- Data centre-ready land
- Power infrastructure
- Renewable energy
- Fibre connectivity
- Engineering and construction
- Cooling systems
- Backup power
- Digital infrastructure
This means the data centre boom could have implications far beyond technology companies, influencing real estate developers, utilities, infrastructure providers and renewable energy companies.
Mumbai Leads India’s Data Centre Market
Mumbai-MMR continues to dominate India’s data centre landscape because of its strong financial ecosystem, enterprise demand and connectivity infrastructure.
According to the report:
| Market | Operational Data Centres | IT Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Mumbai-MMR | 54 | 812 MW |
| Chennai | 25 | 298 MW |
| Delhi-NCR | 18 | 179 MW |
| Bengaluru | 18 | 137 MW |
| Hyderabad | 12 | 178 MW |
While Mumbai remains the country’s largest hub, the expansion of data centre infrastructure is becoming increasingly geographically diversified.
Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad are attracting significant investment as operators look for locations offering suitable land, reliable electricity, connectivity and access to renewable energy.
The emergence of multiple clusters could also create new opportunities for commercial real estate development outside traditional data centre markets.
AI Is Changing the Data Centre Equation
Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the most important drivers of India’s next data centre expansion cycle.
AI workloads require significantly greater computing power, storage and electricity than many conventional digital applications. As enterprises and consumers increasingly adopt AI, data centres are shifting from being supporting infrastructure to becoming a core component of economic and technological competitiveness.
The AI boom is also changing facility design.
Next-generation data centres must increasingly account for higher-density computing environments, advanced cooling requirements and significantly greater power demand.
This could create opportunities for companies working across energy, cooling, semiconductors, networking, construction and renewable power.
Policy Support Strengthens India’s Data Centre Opportunity
Government policy is also contributing to the development of India’s digital infrastructure ecosystem.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 has reinforced the importance of secure and compliant data management, supporting demand for robust domestic infrastructure.
Data centres have also received infrastructure status, helping improve access to longer-term financing. According to the Anarock report, financing can be available at interest rates of around 9.5% to 10.5%, with tenures extending up to 12 years.
A proposed tax holiday through 2047 for eligible global cloud service providers could further strengthen India’s competitiveness as a data centre destination.
Power, Land and Connectivity Will Define the Next Phase
Despite the industry’s strong growth outlook, India’s data centre expansion will depend heavily on the availability of supporting infrastructure.
The biggest constraints could increasingly revolve around power, land and connectivity.
Large data centres require substantial and reliable electricity supplies. At the same time, operators are increasingly looking toward renewable energy to manage both energy costs and sustainability requirements.
Suitable land must also be located close enough to major demand centres while offering access to electricity grids and high-speed fibre networks.
As AI workloads increase power requirements, securing reliable and scalable energy infrastructure could become one of the defining factors determining where India’s next generation of data centres is built.
India’s Data Centre Boom Could Reshape Real Estate
India’s data centre opportunity is no longer simply a technology story.
With the sector potentially reaching 101 million sq ft of footprint and more than 6.7 GW of IT capacity by 2030, data centres are becoming an increasingly important part of India’s infrastructure and commercial real estate ecosystem.
The expected investment wave could stimulate demand for land, construction, renewable energy, power transmission, cooling technology, fibre networks and specialised engineering services.
As India’s digital economy expands and AI adoption accelerates, the country’s data centres could become some of the most strategically important infrastructure assets of the next decade.
The next phase of India’s digital transformation may therefore be measured not only in apps, users and data — but in megawatts, land parcels and millions of square feet of specialised infrastructure.
Raff Raises $1.7 Million Pre-Seed to Transform Offline Retail Distribution Across MENA
Ruchi Kumar is the associate editor at Entrepreneur News Network and TVW News India, where she leads editorial strategy, brand storytelling, and startup ecosystem coverage. With a strong focus on innovation, business, and marketing insights, he curates impactful narratives that spotlight India’s evolving entrepreneurial landscape. She has written extensively on fintech, AI and emerging startups.