Why India must lead in domestic data centre infra

DATA SOVEREIGNTY AT SCALE

- SHARANPREET KAUR

As the global race to scale up datacentre capacity accelerates, driven by the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-native workloads, India finds itself at a strategic crossroads. Despite significant strides in digital adoption and connectivity, a large share of India’s data continues to be processed and stored overseas due to insufficient domestic infrastructure.

This disconnect has far-reaching implications; not just for data sovereignty and national security, but also for service performance, economic growth, and India’s long-term digital competitiveness. India contributes nearly 20% of global data generation, yet holds only about 3% of the world’s data centre capacity. This sharp imbalance highlights the urgency to expand domestic infrastructure. The country’s installed IT load has grown from 350 megawatts (MW) in 2019 to 1,030 MW in 2024, and projections suggest it could reach 1,825 MW by 2027; representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24%. Investments over the past five years have already surpassed US $60 billion, with future outlays expected to cross US $100 billion by 2027. This momentum signals not only a rising recognition of the strategic importance of data centres but also the economic opportunities they present.