Mumbai: India’s data centre footprint is projected to cross 101 million sq ft by 2030, with more than USD 300 billion in investment commitments expected to support the sector’s next phase of expansion, according to Anarock Capital’s latest report, “Data Centre: The Blueprint of The Digital Fortress in India.”
The country’s data centre footprint has expanded sharply from 0.6 million sq ft in 2007 to nearly 27 million sq ft across 164 data centres in H1 2026. The report said the sector is scaling up rapidly to meet India’s accelerating digital requirements.
Shobhit Agarwal, CEO – Anarock Capital, says, “The projected 101 Mn sq ft data centre footprint highlights the sheer physical scale of the real estate opportunity.
Unlike conventional office or industrial developments, data centres are highly infrastructure-intensive assets, requiring large land parcels, substantial power capacity, advanced cooling systems, robust connectivity, and high levels of operational resilience.”
“This projected footprint doesn’t represent just additional built-up space requirements – this is a specialised asset class at the intersection of real estate, technology and infrastructure” he adds.
“As operators expand their portfolios, demand for strategically located land, power infrastructure, renewable energy, engineering and construction services, fibre connectivity and specialised cooling solutions will rise in tandem.”
India Data Centre Capacity Crosses 1.8 GW
The growth in India’s data centre footprint is being accompanied by a significant increase in capacity. According to the report, data centre capacity has risen from less than 1 GW a few years ago to more than 1.8 GW as of H1 2026.
The development pipeline is expected to push capacity beyond 6.7 GW by the end of the decade, representing more than a threefold increase over the next four years.
More than USD 300 billion in investment commitments are supporting this rapid expansion. The report said this positions India among the fastest-growing data centre markets globally, with growth estimated at two to three times the global average.
“The massive scale of investment commitments demonstrates the long-term confidence surrounding the sector, and its strategic importance to the digital economy,” says Agarwal.
“It also reflects the convergence of multiple structural demand drivers – including cloud adoption, rising data consumption, artificial intelligence (AI), digital payments, enterprise digitalisation and the growing need for secure and resilient digital infrastructure.”
Globally, data centre capacity crossed 92 GW in H1 2026 and is projected to reach more than 210 GW by the end of 2030. Global investment commitments stood at USD 3,000 billion by the first half of 2026.
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Mumbai-MMR Remains Dominant Data Centre Hub
Mumbai-MMR continues to account for the largest share of India’s data centre footprint, supported by its financial and commercial ecosystem, enterprise demand and connectivity advantages.
However, the market is increasingly expanding across other major digital and business centres, including Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad, with these markets also attracting significant investments.
- Mumbai-MMR has 54 operational data centres with an IT capacity of 812 MW, followed by
- Chennai with 25 data centres with a capacity of 298 MW.
- 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 emergence of these data centre clusters is driven by land and power availability, network connectivity, renewable energy access and proximity to major demand centres.
This geographical diversification is also creating opportunities for real estate development beyond established data centre hubs.
AI to Reshape Data Centre Requirements
Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the key drivers of future demand for India’s data centre footprint. The rapid adoption of AI is expected to directly influence the design and engineering requirements of next-generation data centre facilities.
The report estimates that AI workloads could account for 70% of data centre demand by 2030.
“AI’s explosive growth adds another powerful dimension to this opportunity,” says Agarwal.
“AI models require far more computing power, storage capacity and energy than conventional digital applications. As businesses, governments and consumers adopt AI at scale, data centres are evolving from digital activity support to critical infrastructure driving economic growth and technological competitiveness.”
The report also noted that India had more than 950 million internet users in H1 2026, highlighting the scale of the country’s digital ecosystem.
Policy and Financing Support Data Centre Expansion
Policy measures are also supporting the development of India’s data centre footprint. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, further emphasises the importance of secure domestic data infrastructure and supports the broader requirement for robust and compliant data management capabilities.
The infrastructure status accorded to data centres has also improved access to long-tenure financing at interest rates of around 9.5%-10.5%, with financing tenures extending up to 12 years.
The proposed tax holiday through 2047 for eligible global cloud service providers is expected to further enhance India’s competitiveness.
Data Centre Footprint: Power, Land and Connectivity Key to Future Growth
According to Anarock Capital, the next phase of India’s data centre footprint expansion will be defined by the availability of power, land and connectivity.
With the projected growth in footprint and capacity, alongside the investment commitments supporting the wider ecosystem, India’s data centre market will need to scale up significantly.
The report highlighted that supporting infrastructure will need to keep pace with the sector’s expansion. Reliable power, suitable land, high-speed connectivity and access to renewable energy will determine where the next generation of data centre capacity can be developed.
India’s data centre footprint is therefore expected to have implications beyond data centre development, influencing land-use patterns, infrastructure investments and the commercial real estate landscape across the country’s leading digital markets.
