India’s data-centre capacity quadrupled to 1.7GW in six years; AI boom set to drive 8x power demand by 2035: BNEF

India has emerged as the largest data-centre market in the Asia-Pacific region outside China, with live IT capacity quadrupling over the past six years to 1.7GW, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF), Bloomberg’s energy and climate research arm. The country has another 1.3GW of capacity under construction, while projects representing a further 3.2GW have secured land, power and permits, underscoring the pace of expansion.

The growth is being fuelled by rising demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure, alongside power availability, fibre connectivity and investments by domestic and global technology companies. About 95% of announced investments are directed towards hyperscale AI facilities, highlighting the increasing role of AI workloads in India’s data-centre expansion.

Adani, Reliance account for 45% of announced investments

Indian conglomerates Adani and Reliance have committed a combined $210 billion to the data-centre sector, accounting for around 45% of total announced investments, according to BNEF. Global hyperscalers including Google, Amazon and Microsoft have pledged about $84 billion, largely towards large-scale AI campuses.

The scale of the investment pipeline is expected to sharply increase electricity demand from data centres, making power generation and transmission infrastructure critical to the sector’s expansion.

Data-centre electricity use to cross 90 TWh

BNEF expects India’s data-centre electricity consumption to rise more than eightfold to around 91 TWh by 2035, from 11 TWh in 2025. The country’s electricity generation capacity has grown at a 7.1% compound annual growth rate since 2021, providing a larger power base for energy-intensive data-centre operations.

Transmission constraints, however, have previously delayed project commissioning, making grid upgrades an important requirement for bringing new capacity online.

The sector is also expected to increase its reliance on renewable power as hyperscalers work towards net-zero emissions targets by 2030. Water availability could emerge as another constraint, particularly in Chennai and Bengaluru, where cooling requirements for large data centres could increase pressure on local water resources.

Maharashtra remains dominant data-centre hub

Maharashtra accounts for 55% of India’s existing data-centre capacity, supported by established infrastructure and connectivity. However, the growing project pipeline across Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh points to a gradual geographic expansion of the industry.

The expansion is likely to strengthen India’s position as a major data and AI infrastructure hub outside China, while placing greater demands on power grids, renewable energy availability and water resources.