India needs an extra 1.7-3.6 GW data centre capacity by 2028 due to high demand

ByHT News Desk | Edited by Abhyjith K. Ashokan

Jun 26, 2024 06:06 PM IST

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India needs more data centres to meet the demand of data consumption, especially with AI poised to develop significantly in the near future.

India will require an additional 1.7-3.6 Gigawatt (GW) data centre capacity by 2028, apart from the 2.32 GW capacity already under construction in order to meet growing demand, PTI wrote, citing a report by Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate consultancy firm.

Indians are among the highest consumers of data per month among comparable nations, with over 19 Gigabytes (GB) of data consumed per person.

Why does India need more data centres?

This is because Indians are among the highest consumers of data per month among comparable nations, with over 19 Gigabytes (GB) of data consumed per person, according to the report titled, ‘Is India Building Enough to Power its Digital Transformation?’

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The increase of investment in data centres is also important, considering the increasing demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is expected to further increase overall demand of data centres in India.

India's current under-construction colocation (Colo) data centre capacity addition stands at 1.03 GW for 2024-2028, with an additional 1.29 GW being planned, taking the total projected capacity to 3.29 GW by 2028, according to the report.

What are colocation data centres?

A colocation data center is a type of data center that rents out server space and other equipment to numerous companies at once.

This exponential growth is caused due to a significant increase in data consumption due to rising digital penetration and adoption of data-intensive technologies, the consultant said.

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At the end of 2023, India's installed colocation (Colo) data centre capacity stood at 977 MW. About 258 MW came in 2023 across the top seven Indian cities, which surpassed the capacity addition in 2022, which stood at 126 MW, the report said.

Where are all the data centres currently located?

More than 90% of these data centres are concentrated in key cities including Mumbai (The market leader), Chennai, Delhi-NCR and also Hyderabad, which is fast emerging as a new data centre hub.

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