THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 2, 2026

India has the potential to attract investments of around USD 200 billion in the data centre sector, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday, pitching the country as the “world’s best location” for setting up data centres.

Goyal made the remarks while chairing a CEO roundtable on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) for scaling up India’s data centre ecosystem at Vanijya Bhawan here.

The minister said India’s strong growth prospects, even amid global uncertainty and volatility, provide a robust foundation for expansion of the sector. He also highlighted the country’s 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter.

Goyal said data centres and semiconductors, along with India’s growing capabilities in artificial intelligence and expanding manufacturing base, would be key drivers of economic growth in the coming years.

These sectors, he said, would also contribute to the country’s vision of becoming a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047.

The minister said discussions between various Central and state government departments had already helped address several issues confronting the data centre industry.

The latest roundtable, convened as a follow-up to the inaugural CEO meeting, focused on measures to facilitate faster and sustainable expansion of data centre infrastructure, particularly in areas such as power availability, land, regulatory approvals and fiscal issues.

The discussions noted rapidly rising demand for data centres, driven by cloud computing and AI workloads. Hyperscalers accounted for more than 80 per cent of data centre absorption during the first half of 2026, underscoring India’s emergence as a major destination for AI infrastructure.

Participants deliberated on measures to ensure adequate and reliable power supply, including cluster-based transmission and substation planning, Day-1 sanctioned load, dual power feeders and facilitating procurement of renewable energy across state boundaries.

The meeting also stressed the need for data centre-ready land banks and pre-identified power-ready parcels to reduce project timelines and provide greater certainty to investors.

On the regulatory front, stakeholders discussed streamlined single-window approvals and appropriate building regulations tailored to the requirements of data centres.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry highlighted the progress made since the previous roundtable, noting that the National Building Code 2026 now specifically recognises data centres under Group E and contains a dedicated annexure covering requirements such as fire-risk assessment and data centre-specific performance indicators.

Goyal said the discussions would provide valuable inputs for actionable and time-bound reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and positioning India as a trusted global data centre hub.

The government said the dialogue would help accelerate investment and innovation, strengthen India’s digital infrastructure and create a more conducive environment for the industry.

Senior representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh participated in the meeting, along with representatives of around 46 data centre companies.

Global hyperscalers, data centre developers and operators, investors and infrastructure providers were also represented at the roundtable.