India’s data centre capacity has grown from 375 MW in 2020 to 1575 MW, with AI expected to drive further expansion and power demand.
India’s data centre industry is expanding rapidly as the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing increases demand for digital infrastructure.
The government said India’s installed data centre capacity has increased from around 375 MW in 2020 to approximately 1575 MW currently. Major data centre hubs include Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi national capital region (NCR) and Jamnagar.
The industry is also expanding into new markets, with Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal emerging as potential investment destinations. Despite this growth, data centres currently account for less than 1 per cent of India’s total installed power capacity.
According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), data centres could require around 17 GW of electricity by 2031-32 as computing and AI workloads continue to grow. This rising demand is putting greater focus on the sector’s energy efficiency and use of renewable power.
The government is promoting clean energy through initiatives such as the Green Energy Open Access Rules, Green Energy Corridor Scheme, Green Term Ahead Market, National Green Hydrogen Mission and solar and offshore wind programmes.
The recently enacted SHANTI Act is also aimed at strengthening access to reliable clean power for emerging sectors such as AI and data centres, including through potential deployment of small modular and micro nuclear reactors.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Indian Standards has introduced standards covering data centre efficiency metrics such as power usage effectiveness, carbon usage effectiveness, cooling efficiency ratio and water usage effectiveness.
Operators are also adopting advanced cooling technologies, including direct-to-chip liquid cooling, immersion cooling, adiabatic cooling and closed-loop systems. High-density racks are being deployed to support AI and high-performance computing while improving power and water efficiency.
These measures are expected to help India meet the growing infrastructure requirements of AI while keeping the expansion of data centres more energy- and resource-efficient.
