The Indian data centre market is experiencing robust growth, driven by the country’s overall digitisation, aided by the government’s proactive steps, growing internet usage, and cloud computing. Considering the rapid rise in internet usage and the advent of 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), India’s data centre market is poised for rapid expansion, said property consulting firm Savills India.
Driven by digitisation, cloud computing and government intervention, India is expected to add around 250 megawatts (MW) of data-centre capacity in 2023, taking the total capacity to 1.15 gigawatts (GW) during the year, real estate consultancy firm Savills India has said.
“As of 2022, the cumulative operational colocation capacity of data centres in the country exceeded 900 MW totalling over 9 msf gross built-up area. This is mainly concentrated in Mumbai and Chennai due to landing stations for submarine cables that carry internet traffic between countries,” the report said.
The report added that about 2 million square feet (msf) will be added towards data centre growth. States such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal have announced data centre policies in the last two years to facilitate investments, realising the growth potential.
“Going forward, the data centre industry’s focus will shift towards being as close as possible to the customer base, including those in Tier-2 cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Kochi, Coimbatore etc. This trend will drive demand for real estate in Tier-2 as well as Tier-3 cities in some regions,” Niraj Karale, Director & Head, Data Centre Services, Savills India, added.
“Given the country’s rich network connectivity, cost advantage, stable government, availability of skilled labourand low climate risk, India is well-positioned to serve as a regional data centre hub in Asia. The Government of India led initiatives such as Digital India, emphasis on self-reliance and data protection through data localisation are expected to increase the volume of data in the country, resulting in an increased demand for data centres and cloud services.”, said Niraj Karale, Director & Head, Data Centre Services at Savills India.
