India’s data centre capacity crosses 1.5 GW as metro hubs drive growth

Four submarine cables under commissioning, three in pipeline as government strengthens digital infrastructure.

India’s data centre capacity has grown from 375 MW in 2020 to over 1,500 MW in 2025, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Electronics & IT.

This reflects a fourfold increase in the country’s digital infrastructure base.

The capacity is concentrated across a few key markets. Mumbai and Navi Mumbai lead with 790 MW, accounting for over half of the total capacity.

Chennai follows with 305 MW, while Bengaluru (182 MW) and Hyderabad (152 MW) continue to expand.

Delhi-NCR and Noida together account for 76 MW, with Pune and Kolkata contributing a smaller share.

The growth highlights the continued dominance of metro and coastal markets in supporting large-scale data centre deployments.

Alongside capacity expansion, India is strengthening its connectivity infrastructure through new submarine cable systems.

Four submarine cables are currently under commissioning.

These include India Europe Xpress (IEX) by Reliance Jio in Mumbai, SEA-ME-WE-6 and 2Africa by Bharti Airtel landing in Mumbai and Chennai, and the Raman Cable by Sify Technologies in Mumbai.

Three additional submarine cable systems are under planning.

These include the Wyasa Cable by Tata Communications in Chennai, the Indian Ocean Cable by Reliance Jio in Raigad, and the WABAN Cable by Sify Technologies in Mumbai.

Policy focus on domestic data storage and infrastructure

The government continues to focus on expanding domestic data infrastructure to support secure and reliable digital services.

A recent policy move is expected to support this momentum. In the Union Budget 2026–27, the government announced a 20-year tax exemption, valid until 2047, for foreign companies offering cloud services to global clients through data centres located in India.

The Reserve Bank of India has mandated that all payment system data be stored within India, reinforcing data localisation requirements.

The government has clarified that it is not planning to establish new sub-sea gateways, while allowing private sector-led expansion of submarine cable infrastructure.

The overall policy direction is aimed at building a secure, trusted and accountable digital ecosystem with sufficient in-country data storage capacity.

Channel opportunity and infrastructure challenges

The scale of data centre expansion is expected to create sustained demand across infrastructure layers, including power, cooling, networking, security and managed services.

Rising AI and machine learning workloads are increasing rack densities, pushing beyond the limits of traditional air-cooling systems.

This is driving a shift towards more advanced cooling approaches, particularly for high-performance GPU deployments.

At the same time, the pace of expansion is expected to put pressure on core infrastructure.

Power availability, energy efficiency and location concentration remain key considerations as capacity continues to scale across a few major markets.

The government has reiterated that its policy approach is focused on building a safe, trusted and accountable digital ecosystem, with adequate domestic data storage capacity to support long-term growth.