According to a report by Colliers, India’s data centre (DC) capacity is expected to surpass 4,500 megawatt (MW) by 2030, driven by rising digital adoption, favourable government policies, and a surge in data consumption. The expansion is projected to create demand for nearly 55 million square feet of real estate over the next five to six years.
A significant portion of this capacity will come from hyperscale facilities exceeding 50 MW, which will make up nearly two-thirds of the country’s total DC stock by the decade’s end. Real estate and construction costs are estimated to account for 30-40 per cent of total development expenses.
To meet this growth, the DC sector is set to attract $20-25 billion in investments by 2030. Between 2020 and April 2025, India secured $14.7 billion in DC investments, with foreign institutional investors contributing nearly 86 per cent. Mumbai and Chennai together accounted for 61 per cent of the capital inflow.
As of April 2025, India’s total DC capacity across the top seven cities stood at 1,263 MW, spread over approximately 16 million square feet, marking a 3.6X increase since 2020. Mumbai leads with 41 per cent of the total capacity, followed by Chennai at 23 per cent and Delhi-NCR at 14 per cent. Together, Mumbai and Chennai represent nearly two-thirds of the country’s DC landscape.
Further, tier II and III cities like Vijayawada, Mohali, and Jaipur are emerging as new data infrastructure hubs, driven by the need for low-latency services and state-backed digital policies. As of April 2025, these cities accounted for 82 MW, or about 6 per cent of India’s DC capacity, a figure expected to grow to 300-400 MW by 2030.
As per the report, India is also witnessing a shift towards sustainable DC operations. Currently, 25 per cent of the country’s DC capacity is green-certified, a share that is expected to increase to 30-40 per cent by 2030. As of April 2025, green-certified capacity had nearly doubled from 159 MW in 2020 to 314 MW, with Mumbai and Chennai accounting for nearly three-fourths of this.
Operators are increasingly adopting low-emission building materials, energy-efficient cooling technologies, and advanced airflow designs to cut down on carbon emissions and improve operational efficiency.
With the rollout of 5G and growing adoption of edge computing, India’s edge DC capacity is projected to grow from 60-70 MW in 2025 to 300-400 MW by 2030. Edge DCs, which are smaller facilities located closer to end-users, enable low-latency, real-time processing. This segment is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35-40 per cent over the next five years, with more than 200 edge DCs already in the pipeline.
Furthermore, the DC sector’s growth is further supported by robust policy initiatives such as the Digital India Mission, National Broadband Mission 2.0, and the Data Protection Bill 2023. Since 2022, DCs have held infrastructure status, enabling easier financing and further sectoral expansion.
