India's data centre pipeline reaches 8.33 GW driven by AI adoption, data localisation

New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) India’s data centre development pipeline has surged to 8.33 GW, more than five times the country’s current live operational capacity of 1.6 GW, a report said on Saturday.

The rapid growth of the data centre development pipeline is due to accelerating artificial intelligence adoption, cloud growth and data localisation requirements, the report from Knight Frank India said.

India is emerging as one of the world’s most attractive destinations for hyperscale digital infrastructure investments and currently has 0.32 GW of data centre capacity under construction, while another 2.92 GW has reached the committed stage, the report said.

Additionally, 5.41 GW of capacity is in the early stages of development.

The scale of the pipeline reflects growing confidence among hyperscalers, cloud providers, AI infrastructure operators and institutional investors, who continue to expand their presence in India to cater to rapidly rising digital demand.

The significant share of early-stage developments—representing nearly two-thirds of the total pipeline—demonstrates strong confidence in India’s long-term digital economy prospects.

"While Mumbai continues to anchor hyperscale deployments owing to its connectivity advantages, Hyderabad is emerging as a preferred AI infrastructure destination," said Viral Desai, International Partner, Senior Executive Director- Occupier Strategy & Solutions, Industrial & Logistics, Capital Markets & Retail, Knight Frank India.