India has potential for 5X data centre capacity expansion to fuel digital transformation: Report

Mumbai stands out as a clear leader in data centre market while Hyderabad and Delhi NCR are fast emerging as the new data centre hubs in India.

India has a potential for five times data centre capacity expansion to fuel digital transformation and the country requires an additional 1.7-3.6 GW (gigawatt) data centre capacity over and above the planned development of 2.32 GW (colocation) capacity, taking the potential of possible data centre capacity to over 5 GW, according to a report by Cushman and Wakefield.

According to the data, India’s colocation data centre capacity stood at 977 MW across the top seven cities. Out of this, around 258 MW was built in 2023 witnessing a 105 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth over the installed capacity in 2022.

Also Read: India’s data centre capability set to exceed 1 GW mark in 2024; Noida to emerge as key hub: Report

India’s current under-construction colocation capacity addition stands at 1.03 GW for 2024-2028, with an additional 1.29 GW being planned, taking the total projected capacity to 2.32 GW by 2028.

The report highlighted this growth is propelled by a confluence of factors, including a significant increase in data consumption fuelled by rising digital penetration and adoption of data-intensive technologies.

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More than 90 percent of this supply is concentrated in key markets including Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi NCR and Hyderabad. Mumbai stands out as a clear leader in data centre market while Hyderabad and Delhi NCR are fast emerging as the new data centre hubs in India.

Also Read: Growing at a 40% CAGR, Indian data centre market to reach 1700 MW capacity by 2025

Vivek Dahiya, Managing Director and Head Data Centre Advisory Team, Asia Pacific, Cushman & Wakefield, said that the Indian data centre industry has been witnessing exponential growth over the past few years fuelled by rapid expansion especially post-Covid, in digital penetration levels and adoption of new-age technologies including 5G, cloud computing, IoT, Generative AI.

“We believe India needs close to 5 GW-6.9 GW of total installed to achieve healthier ratios. This necessitates commissioning 1.7-3.6 GW of additional projects beyond those under construction or planned. We anticipate this growth trajectory to continue and expect both existing players to expand and new entrants to join the market in the near-to-medium term,” Dahiya said.

The report highlighted that there is a need to significantly ramp-up investments into adding more projects in the pipeline in data centre segment. This increase in investment is also relevant considering the increasing demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is expected to further augment overall demand of data centres in India.

Gautam Saraf, Managing Director, Mumbai, and New Business at Cushman & Wakefield said that India is poised for a data centre revolution and possesses all the necessary elements to become a major global hub.

“This study aims to highlight the immense potential and opportunities within India's data centre sector. While much attention has been given to supply, our analysis uniquely focuses on the demand side of the equation. We are optimistic that a collaborative effort from all stakeholders will propel India to the forefront of the global data centre market,” he said.