According to Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA), India’s data centre capacity is expected to reach 2,000-2,100 MW by financial year 2027 (FY27), with anticipated investments of Rs 500-550 billion fuelled by digital boom and data localisation efforts.
As per the company, the current capacity stands at 950 MW, with major players like NTT Global Data Centers, CtrlS Data Centers, STT Global Data Centers, Sify Technologies, and Nxtra Data controlling 85 per cent of the market as of March 2024.
ICRA stated that the surge in data generation and push for data localisation are driving a transformative shift in India’s data centre landscape. Moreover, artificial intelligence (AI) led demand, which is expected to increase multi-fold in next three to five years, presents significant opportunities.
It highlighted that around 95 per cent of the existing capacity is in six cities with Mumbai and Chennai leading the race. Mumbai remains the focal point for data centre development, contributing over 50 per cent of existing capacity due to its strategic advantages in connectivity and power reliability, and is expected to remain the key location for the upcoming data centre capacity in India.
It also mentioned that as demand for co-location services grows, particularly from hyperscalers and sectors like banking and IT, revenues for data centres are projected to rise sharply by 23-25 per cent year-on-year in FY25.
Furthermore, it noted that as environmental concerns gain traction, Indian data centre operators are expected to increase their investment in green power from currently below five per cent to an anticipated 20-25 per cent by 2028.
