India Leads Data Center Capacity Growth, Outpacing Asia-Pacific: Impact of Banking, Payment Services, and Cloud Computing
India is now leading the charge in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding China) when it comes to data center capacity, boasting a staggering 950 megawatts. Surpassing Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea, India has emerged as a key player in the region.
According to a report by global real estate consultancy firm CBRE, over the next 2 years, India’s data center capacity is expected to skyrocket, reaching an estimated 1,800 megawatts, a significant increase from the current 850 megawatts.
This surge underscores India’s growing importance in the digital infrastructure landscape, positioning the country as a hub for data-driven innovation and technological advancement in the region.
India’s Data Center Capacity Set to Reach 2 Gigawatts by 2026
According to research by another firm, Coverage, India’s data center capacity is expected to reach approximately 2,000 megawatts or 2 gigawatts by the year 2026. This year, the expectation is to achieve a data center capacity of 1,370 megawatts.
Contrastingly, commercial real estate firm Kushman and Wakefield suggests that China’s data center capacity stands at around 3,800 megawatts. In 2023, the total data center stock in India was 1.6 crore square feet. As per CBRE’s report, between 2018 and 2023, there was an investment of over 3.34 lakh crores in this sector in India.
According to Coverage Ratings’ report, this sector could see an investment increase of up to 50,000 crores by 2026. Consequently, the demand for data analytics in the country is also steadily increasing.
Emerging Cities to Drive Data Center Growth in India
According to a report by CBRE, in the future, over 60% of data center supply will be concentrated in Mumbai and Chennai. However, emerging cities like Kochi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna, and Visakhapatnam are showing promising growth prospects. In these cities, the cost is comparatively lower compared to Mumbai and Chennai.
Data centers house large computing machines such as servers, data storage drives, and other related hardware equipment. These devices primarily cater to digital data storage needs.
Multinational Companies Shifting to India
India is increasingly becoming an attractive destination for multinational companies. Primarily, companies seeking to expand their digital services and those facing supply-related concerns are inclined to relocate from other Asian countries. – Anshuman Magazine, Chairman-CEO, CBRE India.
