India’s data centre footprint to cross 101 mn sq ft by 2030: Anarock Capital
Mumbai, Aug 25 (TNT): India’s data centre footprint is projected to exceed 101 million sq ft by 2030 from nearly 27 million sq ft in the first half of 2026, driven by rising data consumption, cloud adoption and artificial intelligence, according to Anarock Capital’s latest report.
The report, Data Centre: The Blueprint of The Digital Fortress in India, said the sector’s footprint has grown from 0.6 million sq ft in 2007, with more than USD 300 billion in investment commitments expected to support the upcoming expansion.
Anarock Capital CEO Shobhit Agarwal said the projected growth represents a major real estate and infrastructure opportunity, with data centres requiring large land parcels, substantial power capacity, advanced cooling systems and robust connectivity.
Data centre capacity has also crossed 1.8 GW in H1 2026 from less than 1 GW a few years ago and is expected to exceed 6.7 GW by 2030, representing more than a three-fold increase, the report revealed.
The growth is being supported by cloud adoption, increasing data consumption, AI, digital payments, enterprise digitalisation and demand for secure and resilient digital infrastructure.
Globally, data centre capacity stood at more than 92 GW in H1 2026 and is projected to reach over 210 GW by the end of 2030, with investment commitments estimated at USD 3 trillion, the report stated.
Mumbai-MMR remains dominant hub
Mumbai-MMR continues to be India’s largest data centre market, with 54 operational centres and 812 MW of IT capacity, followed by Chennai with 25 centres and 298 MW, the report said.
Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru have 18 data centres each, with IT capacities of 179 MW and 137 MW, respectively. Hyderabad has 12 data centres with an IT capacity of 178 MW.
The report said availability of land and power, network connectivity, renewable energy access and proximity to major demand centres are driving the emergence of data centre clusters across cities.
AI to drive next phase of growth
The rapid adoption of AI is expected to significantly influence future data centre requirements, with AI applications demanding greater computing power, storage capacity and energy.
Agarwal said AI was adding a new dimension to the sector as data centres increasingly become critical infrastructure supporting economic growth and technological competitiveness.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, is also expected to support demand for secure domestic data infrastructure and compliant data management capabilities.
The infrastructure status accorded to data centres has improved access to long-term financing, with interest rates of around 9.5-10.5% and financing tenures of up to 12 years, the report said.
The proposed tax holiday through 2047 for eligible global cloud service providers is also expected to boost India’s competitiveness.
The report identified power, land and connectivity as key requirements for the next phase of expansion, with reliable power, suitable land, high-speed connectivity and renewable energy access expected to determine the location of future data centre capacity.
The sector’s expansion is likely to have a wider impact on land-use patterns, infrastructure investment and commercial real estate markets across India’s leading digital centres.
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