Mumbai: India’s data centre industry is entering a period of rapid expansion as rising demand for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data localisation pushes the country’s future development pipeline to an estimated 8.33 gigawatts, according to a report by Knight Frank India. The planned capacity is more than five times India’s current operational capacity.
The report said hyperscalers, cloud service providers, AI operators and institutional investors are accelerating investments to meet the next generation of computing demand. AI-led requirements have emerged as the sector’s strongest catalyst because companies need substantially greater computing power, storage and processing capacity than conventional cloud operations provide.
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Planned Capacity Signals New Infrastructure Cycle
India currently has 322.4 megawatts of data centre capacity under construction and another 2,920.2 MW in committed projects. A further 5,406 MW is at an early stage of development, taking the total future pipeline to 8,326.6 MW, or 8.33 GW.
Knight Frank said nearly two-thirds of the overall pipeline consists of early-stage projects, reflecting growing investor confidence in the long-term prospects of India’s digital economy.
The expansion is being driven by the convergence of AI adoption, enterprise digitisation, cloud migration and regulatory requirements related to data localisation. India’s future pipeline now exceeds 8 GW, compared with its current live operational capacity of about 1.6 GW.
Viral Desai, International Partner and Senior Executive Director at Knight Frank India, said the country’s data centre growth was increasingly becoming a story of regional specialisation. Different cities are emerging as preferred destinations based on connectivity, costs, policy support and infrastructure advantages.
Mumbai Leads as Hyderabad and Chennai Gain Ground
Mumbai remains India’s largest data centre market, accounting for nearly 45 per cent of the country’s future pipeline. The city has a total development pipeline of 3.75 GW, including 173 MW under construction, 1.54 GW in committed projects and 2.21 GW in early-stage developments.
Its position is supported by extensive fibre connectivity, robust power infrastructure, proximity to financial institutions and several international subsea cable landing stations linking India with global data networks.
Hyderabad has consolidated its position as India’s second-largest future data centre market, with a pipeline of 1.93 GW. This includes 32.7 MW under construction, 633.5 MW in committed developments and nearly 1.3 GW at the early development stage.
The city’s growth has been linked to proactive state policies, lower operating costs and increasing investment by global technology companies building AI and cloud infrastructure. Desai said Hyderabad was emerging as a preferred destination for AI infrastructure.
Chennai’s future pipeline has reached 1.36 GW, strengthening its role as India’s digital gateway to Southeast Asia. Strong subsea cable connectivity, competitive power tariffs and favourable policy support have made the city increasingly attractive for international digital infrastructure.
Delhi-NCR, Pune and Bengaluru Expand Their Pipelines
Other major markets are also recording substantial development. Delhi-NCR has a pipeline of 541.4 MW, followed by Pune with 425.6 MW and Bengaluru with 182 MW. Kolkata’s future pipeline stands at 133.4 MW.
The emerging regional pattern places Mumbai at the centre of hyperscale deployments because of its connectivity advantages, while Hyderabad develops as an AI infrastructure destination and Chennai strengthens its position as a strategic gateway for international digital traffic.
Industry experts cited in the report believe India is entering a fresh data centre expansion cycle. With AI adoption, cloud migration and enterprise digitisation supporting demand, the country is positioning itself among the world’s fastest-growing data centre markets and could develop into a major global hub for hyperscale, cloud and AI infrastructure over the next decade.
