According to latest estimates by Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), Global hyperscalers and leading Indian conglomerates are poised to invest over $50 billion in the country’s data centre (DC) industry over the next five to seven years, expanding total capacity from 1 gigawatt (GW) to about 9 GW.
The firm projects a staggered investment of $35 to 50 billion within seven years, driving a nine-fold increase in overall capacity. Meanwhile, Jefferies forecasts that India’s DC capacity will reach 8 GW by 2030, fuelled by rising data traffic, localisation norms, and growing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. This growth could attract $30 billion in capital expenditure and generate $8 billion in leasing revenue, while opening up downstream opportunities in real estate, power, and network infrastructure.
Further, Google’s $15 billion investment in the Vizag AI hub stands among India’s largest foreign direct investment (FDI) deals. Similarly, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced an $8.3 billion Mumbai cloud region, expected to add $15.3 billion to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2033 and create over 81,000 jobs annually. Meta’s subsea cable project, Waterworth, is also slated to reach India by 2030, alongside major commitments from Reliance Industries, AdaniConnex, Tata Consultancy Services, and Bharti Airtel, underscoring the push to strengthen India’s digital infrastructure for 1.4 billion users.
India’s DC market is growing at an annual rate of 17 per cent, making it one of the fastest-expanding regions globally, though its base remains smaller than North America’s, projected to grow from 38 GW to 84 GW over the same period. Data consumption has surged from 8 exabytes in financial year 2016-2017 (FY17) to 229 exabytes in FY25, driven by over-the-top (OTT) platforms, digital payments, social media, and e-commerce. Further, analysts believe the data law and AI adoption will be the next catalysts for growth.
Meanwhile, India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) cautioned that 60 per cent of planned capacity expansion remains nascent, and developers are likely to align supply with demand. The timely scaling of power distribution systems will be critical to ensure adequate electricity access for upcoming large-scale data centre parks.
