India Leads APAC in Data Centre Expansion; Surpasses Japan, Singapore
India is outpacing Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and other Asian countries in data centre capacity growth, driven by major investments from global tech giants like Amazon and Indian conglomerates such as Reliance Industries, according to a new report from real estate services firm CBRE. The surging demand reflects India’s rapidly expanding digital economy and rising consumption of online services by its massive, internet-savvy population. India, now the world’s most populous nation, is projected to add up to 850 MW of new data centre capacity between 2024-2026, nearly doubling its current capacity of around 950 MW and exceeding the growth of regional competitors. Excluding China, India will surpass South Korea (495 MW planned), Japan (407 MW), and Australia (314 MW) in new capacity during this period, the CBRE study found. “India has a large population, so there are a lot of end users that can be served locally, whereas in Singapore or Hong Kong, one has to cater to foreign demand as well because the local population is not enough to make them a large market,” said Mikhail Jaura, senior researcher at technology consultancy IDC. Several factors are fuelling India’s data centre boom. Soaring data consumption due to the increasing adoption of digital payments, e-commerce, streaming, and other online services by India’s 700 million+ internet users is a key driver. Investments and cloud region launches by global tech firms like AWS (investing $12.7 billion by 2030), Google, and Microsoft are also playing a significant role. Expansion by major Indian companies is further boosting growth. Reliance Industries’ joint venture with Brookfield aims to develop data centres in Chennai and Mumbai, while AdaniConneX secured $1.44 billion to build sites with 67 MW total capacity. Data localisation regulations requiring certain data to be stored within India and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating digitisation across industries, with India expected to become a $1 trillion internet economy by 2030, are other important factors. However, experts note that India still needs to improve infrastructure stability, bridge the hardware talent gap, and ensure a cost-effective, uninterrupted power supply to capitalize on its data centre potential fully. Compared to other real estate assets, the industry faces high capital requirements and long development timelines. “One of the biggest challenges is infrastructure stability,” said IDC executive Franco Chiam. “That needs to be addressed as the first step to give confidence that businesses will be able to host data centres in that environment.” Despite the hurdles, India’s data centre market is poised for robust growth in the coming years, with investments expected to reach around $5 billion annually by 2025. The sector is attracting billions from global firms, Indian companies, real estate developers, and private equity funds, boosting real estate activity in key hubs like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi-NCR. By 2026, India’s data centre capacity is forecast to reach over 1800 MW as demand continues to surge. The data centre industry is set to play a pivotal role in India’s ongoing digital transformation and economic growth, reshaping the country’s technological landscape in the years ahead.
Excluding China, India, projected to add 850MW between 2024-2026 will surpass South Korea (495 MW planned), Japan (407 MW), and Australia (314 MW)
Excluding China, India, projected to add 850MW between 2024-2026 will surpass South Korea (495 MW planned), Japan (407 MW), and Australia (314 MW)
["Data Center", "data center India"]
["Go", "data center India", "API", "Data Center", "AWS", "AI", "RPA", "digital transformation", "Git", "Aim", "ViT", "R"]
["AI", "Aim", "AWS", "R", "Go", "Git", "API", "ViT", "digital transformation", "RPA"]
Shyam is a tech journalist with expertise in policy and politics, and exhibits a fervent interest in scrutinising the convergence of AI and analytics in society. In his leisure time, he indulges in anime binges and mountain hikes.