According to a report by Deloitte, India’s digital ecosystem is entering its next phase of scale, where artificial intelligence (AI) compute demand is translating into real-world build-outs across data centres and semiconductors, while telecom operators evolve from connectivity providers into daily-life platforms.
Growth is increasingly defined by infrastructure readiness, ecosystem collaborations and new monetisation models. This shift is visible in hyperscale capacity build-outs amid power and land constraints, rapid expansion of the semiconductor value chain, AI-led super apps that embed telecom into daily routines and creator-led media formats that are reshaping engagement and live entertainment economics.
Deloitte predicted that India’s technology infrastructure will be defined by rising digital demand and the physical build-out required to support AI-led compute, cloud adoption and data localisation.
Two themes will shape the next chapter: a rapid expansion of data centre capacity to serve AI and cloud workloads and a parallel acceleration of the domestic semiconductor ecosystem to reduce strategic import dependence and capture more value across the electronics stack.
On data centres, Deloitte estimated that India’s installed capacity will scale from approximately 1.5 GW in 2025 to around 10 GW by 2030. Deloitte India estimated facility build costs (excluding IT hardware) at around $5.5-8.0 million per MW, reinforcing India’s structural competitiveness for new capacity. This expansion will, however, intensify demand for land, power and cooling as AI workloads increase rack densities and raise infrastructure intensity per MW of IT load.
Deloitte predicted that the sector’s electricity demand will rise to approximately 57 TWh by 2029-30, increasing data centres’ share of global electricity consumption from around 0.8 per cent to around 2.5-3 per cent. As utilisation remains high and reliability requirements are stringent, the next growth phase will hinge on power readiness and grid deliverability and not just generation. Efficiency becomes a material lever. Deloitte India cited India’s average power usage effectiveness (PUE) at around 1.9 versus around 1.3 for best-in-class designs, indicating meaningful headroom to reduce unit energy draw through liquid-ready architectures, higher-efficiency power trains and continuous metering and controls.
Securing land and approvals will be crucial. Deloitte predicted that aggregate data centre land requirements will expand by an additional 45–50 million square feet (sq ft) by 2030 (up from around 13 million sq ft in 2023), making faster clearances and coordinated utility provisioning critical to predictable commissioning timelines.
Commenting on the report, partner and technology sector leader, Deloitte India, said, “India’s technology growth will increasingly be shaped by how reliably and quickly digital infrastructure can be delivered at scale. As AI-driven compute demand rises, competitive advantage will come from end-to-end readiness across power quality, site preparedness, cooling resilience and approval certainty, not from capacity announcements alone. The organisations that build repeatable commissioning playbooks, design for efficiency from day one and collaborate closely with utilities and policymakers will be best positioned to earn trust from hyperscalers and investors. The goal is scalable and sustainable growth.”
In parallel, Deloitte analysis projected that India’s semiconductor market will reach around $120 billion by 2030 and around $300 billion by 2035 (at around 20 per cent compounded annual growth rate), driven by electronics manufacturing, automotive electrification and AI/data centre demand. Over the next five years, the semiconductor industry in India is expected to attract an additional $50 billion in capital investment. Of this amount, around $30–35 billion will be directed towards setting up fab and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) operations facilities, and around $15–20 billion will support the value chain, including input materials, gases and chemicals and manufacturing equipment. This underscores the scale of the upstream ecosystem build required to sustain momentum.
Deloitte predicted that India’s telecom industry is moving beyond competing on cheaper gigabytes to becoming a daily-life platform that solves recurring consumer needs. With network scale largely established and data affordability already among the strongest globally, the next wave of value creation is expected to come from service-led ecosystems that deepen engagement, build loyalty and create new monetisation levers without reigniting tariff wars.
Meanwhile, partner and TMT industry leader, Deloitte India, said, “Telecom is moving from being a connectivity utility to becoming a trusted operating layer for daily life. The real differentiation will come from how well operators orchestrate ecosystems across learning, health, mobility and local commerce while using AI to make these services feel seamless and personal. Growth will depend on playing this role through privacy-by-design, transparent value exchange and dependable user experience. Those who can build habit-forming platforms without relying on blunt price moves will unlock more resilient revenue pools and stronger customer loyalty.”
This shift is expected to be most visible outside metros, where digital adoption is high but spending remains cautious. Deloitte predicts that telecom operators will increasingly integrate practical, everyday services into their platforms. These include skill development and digital literacy, healthcare access through local clinics and diagnostic collaborations, mobility enablement (ticketing, route updates and alerts) and affordable meal solutions through tie-ups with local providers. The strategic intent is to make telecom apps less episodic (used only to check balances) and more habitual (used to manage daily routines), creating a stronger foundation for incremental monetisation.
AI is the key enabler of this transition. Deloitte predicted that AI will unify these services into a single, personalised super app experience that learns from user behaviour, language, location and routines to deliver relevant nudges, whether for learning modules, health reminders, commute guidance or tailored upgrades. This model supports low-friction monetisation through small, recurring premiums layered over time, rather than large upfront fees or blunt tariff hikes.
Deloitte predicted that Indian telecom operators will move beyond connectivity into AI-enabled “daily-life” platforms, using personalised services, micro, small and medium enterprises commerce and retail media collaborations to lift engagement and open up new monetisation streams. As more users adopt low-priced add-on utilities and telco apps become more habitual, the industry could see a steady increase in average revenue per user and overall revenues by 2030, driven as much by ecosystem-led services and advertising as by traditional plans.
