“Data sovereignty is a strategic imperative”: Interview with CtrlS’s Anil Nama

As artificial intelligence (AI) workloads scale from experimentation to enterprise production, India’s data centre sector is undergoing a fundamental transformation, with hyperscalers, cloud providers and global capability centres (GCCs) driving demand for high-density, sovereign and energy-efficient infrastructure at an unprecedented pace. Cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai are emerging as strategic hubs, while Tier II markets are gaining traction as edge deployments become critical for low-latency applications. The question for operators is no longer whether to build AI-ready facilities, but how quickly they can deliver the power density, advanced cooling and connectivity ecosystems that next-generation workloads demand, while simultaneously meeting the data localisation mandates and geopolitical considerations that are reshaping where digital infrastructure gets built. In an interview with tele.net, Anil Nama, Chief Information Officer, CtrlS Datacenters, discussed how the company is evolving from a co-location provider to a foundational enabler of India’s AI economy, its approach to infrastructure design for high-density graphics processing unit (GPU) deployments and how data sovereignty considerations are shaping its international expansion strategy. Edited excerpts…

How do you see CtrlS’s role evolving as India positions itself as a major global destination for AI and hyperscale data centre investment?

India is at a pivotal moment in its digital transformation journey. With the convergence of AI adoption, data localisation requirements, cloud expansion and supportive policy frameworks, the country is rapidly emerging as a strategic destination for hyperscale and AI-driven infrastructure investments.

CtrlS Datacenters sees its role evolving from being a data centre provider to becoming a foundational enabler of India’s AI economy. As AI workloads scale, enterprises and hyperscalers require infrastructure that delivers high-density computing, resilient power architectures, low-latency connectivity and sustainability at scale. Our focus is on building future-ready facilities that can support the unique demands of AI training, inference and next-generation digital services.

We are also committed to strengthening India’s digital sovereignty by providing world-class infrastructure within the country, enabling organisations to securely store, process and derive value from their data while meeting regulatory and compliance requirements. At the same time, our expanding hyperscale-ready ecosystem helps global cloud providers and technology companies accelerate their India growth strategies.

Looking ahead, we believe the next phase of digital infrastructure leadership will be defined by reliability, energy efficiency, sustainability and AI readiness. CtrlS Datacenters is investing across these dimensions to ensure that India not only meets domestic demand but also becomes a globally competitive hub for AI innovation, cloud services and digital infrastructure. Our ambition is to help build the backbone that powers India’s emergence as a leading digital and AI-first economy.

What kind of demand are you seeing on the ground in India today? Which sectors and geographies are driving the fastest capacity uptake?

India’s data centre demand is no longer being driven solely by traditional co-location requirements. We are witnessing a fundamental shift towards AI-ready, cloud-first and sovereign digital infrastructure. On the ground, demand remains exceptionally strong, with hyperscalers, cloud service providers, GCCs and digital-native enterprises continuing to absorb capacity at a rapid pace.

Industry-wide absorption has been rising consistently, driven by AI workloads, cloud migration, digital payments, data localisation requirements and enterprise modernisation initiatives.

From a sector perspective, the banking, financial services and insurance sector remains one of the largest consumers due to stringent regulatory, security and latency requirements. We are also seeing accelerated demand from e-commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, media, software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, and increasingly from enterprises deploying AI and high-performance computing environments. GCCs are emerging as a particularly important growth engine as global organisations expand their technology and AI operations in India.

Geographically, Mumbai continues to lead because of its connectivity ecosystem, financial services concentration and submarine cable infrastructure. However, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR are experiencing significant momentum, with Hyderabad in particular emerging as a major hyperscale and AI infrastructure hub. At the same time, we see growing interest in Tier II markets as edge deployments become critical for low-latency applications, 5G and distributed digital services.

India is moving from being a data consumption market to becoming a strategic digital infrastructure hub for cloud, AI and enterprise innovation.

Power density requirements for AI workloads are rising sharply. How is CtrlS approaching advanced cooling, power management and infrastructure design to meet the demands of next-generation AI deployments?

AI is fundamentally reshaping data centre design. Unlike traditional enterprise workloads, AI training and inference environments demand significantly higher rack densities, often exceeding 50-100 kW per rack today, with future deployments expected to go even higher. At CtrlS, we have proactively engineered our facilities and design road map to support this next generation of AI infrastructure.

Our approach is built on three pillars: advanced cooling, intelligent power architecture and scalable infrastructure design. On the cooling front, we are deploying high-efficiency liquid cooling-ready environments alongside optimised air-cooling strategies, enabling us to accommodate increasingly dense GPU clusters while maintaining operational efficiency and reliability. We continuously evaluate emerging cooling technologies to ensure readiness for future AI workloads.

From a power perspective, AI deployments require unprecedented levels of power availability and stability. We are investing in robust electrical infrastructure, high-capacity power distribution systems and intelligent energy management platforms that optimise utilisation while maintaining the resilience expected from mission-critical environments.

Equally important is designing for flexibility. AI technologies are evolving rapidly, and customers need infrastructure that can scale without disruption. Our facilities are being designed with modularity, higher floor loading capacities, enhanced network connectivity, and future-ready power and cooling corridors to support evolving AI architectures.

Ultimately, our objective is not just to host AI workloads but to create a resilient, energy-efficient and scalable digital infrastructure foundation that enables enterprises to accelerate AI adoption with confidence.

How is CtrlS approaching its international expansion? What role does India play as a base for buildings a regional data centre platform?

CtrlS’ international expansion strategy is centred on enabling the next wave of digital growth across high-potential markets while maintaining the operational excellence, sustainability standards and engineering rigour that have defined our success in India.

We are building a regional data centre platform that can support hyperscalers, enterprises, cloud providers and AI-driven workloads with consistent service quality across geographies.

India plays a foundational role in this journey. Over the past decade, India has evolved into one of the world’s fastest growing digital economies, giving us deep experience in designing, building and operating large-scale, mission-critical digital infrastructure in a highly dynamic environment. The scale, talent depth, engineering expertise and operational maturity we have developed here provide a strong blueprint for expansion into other regional markets.

More importantly, India serves as both an innovation hub and a strategic interconnection point within the broader Asia and Middle East digital ecosystem. As data consumption, cloud adoption, AI deployment and cross-border digital services continue to accelerate, organisations increasingly require resilient, low-latency infrastructure platforms that span multiple markets.

Our approach is therefore not simply about adding capacity in new geographies; it is about creating an integrated regional ecosystem that delivers consistent performance, sustainability and resilience.

Data sovereignty and geopolitical considerations are increasingly shaping where data centres get built. How do these factors influence CtrlS’s location and expansion decisions?

Data sovereignty has evolved from a regulatory requirement into a strategic imperative for nations and enterprises alike. As organisations increasingly handle sensitive citizen, financial, healthcare and critical infrastructure data, the need to store and process data within national boundaries is becoming non-negotiable. At CtrlS, this reality significantly influences our location and expansion strategy.

Our data centre investments are aligned with regions that demonstrate strong digital growth, supportive policy frameworks and increasing demand for sovereign cloud and localised data services. India’s data localisation initiatives, rapid digital transformation and expanding AI ecosystem have reinforced the importance of building high-capacity, resilient infrastructure closer to where data is generated and consumed.

Geopolitical considerations further underscore the need for trusted, secure and domestically controlled digital infrastructure. Enterprises today are evaluating not just capacity and connectivity, but also jurisdictional risks, regulatory certainty and supply chain resilience. Consequently, our expansion decisions incorporate a comprehensive assessment of regulatory landscapes, network ecosystems, energy availability, disaster resilience and long-term strategic stability.

Looking ahead, we expect data centres to play an increasingly important role in supporting national digital sovereignty objectives. CtrlS is positioning itself to enable this transition by developing world-class infrastructure that combines compliance, security, scalability and operational resilience, ensuring customers can innovate confidently while meeting evolving data governance and geopolitical requirements.