India is emerging as one of the world’s most attractive locations for setting up data centres, with investments in the sector potentially reaching around $200 billion, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.
Speaking at a CEO Roundtable on “Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) for Scaling India’s Data Centre Ecosystem” at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi, Goyal said India has the potential to become the “data centre of the world” as demand for cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure accelerates.
AI demand drives data centre expansion
The Minister highlighted the growing potential of the data centre and semiconductor industries, India’s expanding AI capabilities and its rising manufacturing base for global-quality products. These sectors, he said, would be key drivers of India’s economic growth in the coming years and contribute towards the country’s vision of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047.
Goyal also expressed confidence in India’s growth prospects despite global uncertainty and volatility, pointing to 7.8% economic growth in the first quarter.
The roundtable was convened as a follow-up to the inaugural CEO Roundtable and focused on measures to strengthen the enabling ecosystem for rapid and sustainable expansion of the data centre industry.
Data centre demand is being fuelled increasingly by cloud and AI workloads. Hyperscalers accounted for more than 80% of data centre absorption in the first half of 2026, underscoring India’s emergence as a major destination for AI infrastructure.
Power, land and approvals in focus
The discussions focused on easing bottlenecks related to power, land, regulatory approvals and fiscal issues, with stakeholders seeking faster deployment of data centre infrastructure.
On the power front, participants discussed cluster-based transmission and substation planning, Day-1 sanctioned load, dual power feeders and mechanisms to facilitate renewable energy procurement across State boundaries.
The industry also called for data-centre-ready land banks and pre-identified power-ready parcels to reduce project development timelines and provide greater investment certainty.
Regulatory reforms were another key focus, with discussions around streamlined single-window approvals and suitable building regulations specifically designed for data centre projects.
Building norms get data centre focus
The roundtable noted progress since the previous industry-government dialogue. The National Building Code 2026 now specifically recognises data centres under Group E, with a dedicated annex covering requirements for data centre facilities, including fire-risk assessment and data-centre-specific performance indicators.
Goyal said interactions between the Central and State Governments and industry stakeholders had already helped resolve several issues, adding that the positive discussions would help create a more conducive environment for investment.
States, global players join dialogue
The roundtable brought together senior representatives from the Central and State Governments, global hyperscalers, data centre developers and operators, investors, infrastructure providers and other stakeholders.
Representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, along with representatives from around 46 data centre companies, participated in the discussions.
The government-industry dialogue is expected to provide the foundation for actionable and time-bound reforms aimed at accelerating investment and innovation, strengthening India’s digital infrastructure and positioning the country as a trusted global data centre hub.