India Plans 500 MW Data Center Expansion, Investment to Hit $180B
According to a CBRE Group report, India's data centre capacity is projected to grow by nearly 30% in 2026, adding around 500 megawatts (MW) of new capacity. Total investment commitments are expected to exceed $180 billion in 2026, up from $126 billion by the end of 2025. This growth is driven by 5G expansion, data localisation norms, and government incentives, including tax holidays and capital support for green data centres.
Key Takeaways
- Total capacity is projected to grow by 500 MW in 2026, a nearly 30% increase on top of the 1,700 MW installed capacity reached in 2025.
- Investment commitments are projected to rise from $126 billion at the end of 2025 to over $180 billion in 2026.
- Growth is expanding beyond Mumbai, which currently holds over half of India's capacity, to cities like Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam, and Patna.
- New government incentives include a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign cloud firms using India-based infrastructure and 25–35% capital support for green data centres.
Why It Matters
The rapid buildout provides the underlying infrastructure necessary for streaming services to expand reach and improve quality of service in a major growth market. For international streamers and CDNs, this expansion, coupled with data localisation rules, makes building or leasing local capacity a higher priority. While Mumbai remains the hub, the expansion into cities like Ahmedabad and Bhopal signals that infrastructure is maturing beyond primary metros. The key metric to watch will be the deployment rate of the projected 500 MW and the uptake of new tax incentives by foreign cloud companies.
Read full article at msn.com
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