Anant Raj to invest $2 billion on data centre boom
Ltd. plans to spend Rs 180 billion ($2.1 billion) on data centres as it joins a growing list of Indian companies looking to ride the boom in demand for artificial intelligence and business process-led services in the country.
The Delhi-based developer with a market value of $2.3 billion will launch two more data centres or server farms in the northern Indian state of Haryana. This is in addition to the one already operational, as it aims for a capacity of little over 300 megawatts by 2032, Amit Sarin, managing director at
Anant Raj
said.
For context, India's data centre capacity is poised to grow by 77% to 1.8 gigawatts in the next four years, according to a 2025 report by property consultant JLL.
'India is witnessing one of the fastest growth phases globally for data centres,' said Sarin in an interview, adding that the project will be funded through the company's own funds.
Anant Raj's move follows ambitious plans by India's top business houses Adani Group and
Reliance Industries
Ltd. to expand their footprint. The trend is underscored by Barclays Plc's view that the South Asian nation will be a big beneficiary of the
data centre investment
boom in Asia, driven by digitalization and rules requiring data to be stored within the country.
Smaller firms are not far behind. Bengaluru-based RMZ Corp. is spending $1.7 billion on two data centres and Panchshil Realty is considering partnering with Blackstone Inc. to build a large data centre in Mumbai.
Data centres are expected to make up more than 40% of Anant Raj's revenues in the next four years from 5% at present, Sarin said. The company tied up with the French IT company Orange Business to provide cloud services to its clients along with data centres last year.
'India currently generates 28% of the world's data but houses only 1% of it locally, presenting a significant opportunity for expansion as data localization becomes inevitable,' Sarin said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
34 minutes ago
- Mint
Indian businesses hoping for US trade deal ahead of tariff deadline, says CII's Memani
New Delhi: Indian businesses are hoping for a breakthrough in trade negotiations with the US as the deadline for higher reciprocal tariffs approaches, said Rajiv Memani, chairman and chief executive of EY India, who has recently taken over as president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2025–26. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Memani underscored the urgency of boosting Indian competitiveness through regulatory and business reforms. 'India's economy is expected to grow at 6.4–6.7% this fiscal,' he said, in line with projections in the Economic Survey. Highlighting India's ongoing trade diplomacy, Memani said the country has been actively signing free trade agreements and that 'very good progress' has been made in negotiations with the European Union. 'I think India is dealing more with non-tariff barriers in the EU rather than tariff barriers—and how those non-tariff barriers can be simplified,' he said. On the US front, Memani pointed to the 9 July deadline for concluding a bilateral trade deal, which would avert a sharp increase in tariffs on Indian exports. 'In the case of the US, we have a date,' he said, referring to the pending imposition of a 26% reciprocal tariff that would replace the current 10% baseline if no agreement is reached. US President Donald Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' policy—announced in April—seeks to impose higher import duties on countries that levy steeper tariffs on American goods, triggering a wave of trade renegotiations. A broad 10% baseline tariff was introduced, with higher rates applied to countries such as China and Vietnam. A temporary 90-day pause was allowed for bilateral negotiations ahead of the 9 July deadline. 'Most businesses, most CII members are very keen that an agreement or an FTA—or some tranche of an FTA—gets signed, because people are wary of a tariff being imposed. And I think there is a reasonable sense of confidence that something may happen in the not-too-distant future. Those FTA engagements are going on very well,' Memani added. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he was expecting a deal with India, 'in which case, there will be much less tariffs.' Memani cautioned, however, that even as India expands its trade ties, competition from the Western world is intensifying. 'Tariffs will go down for a large part of the Western world, and Indian industry will be facing more intense competition,' he said. 'Therefore, the urgency to do reforms, the urgency to do business reforms, and the urgency to enhance competitiveness is very high. We are seeing much greater receptivity and openness in the government to look at ease of doing business,' Memani noted. He added that India must focus on both labour-intensive and advanced manufacturing, while also preparing for the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. 'One issue that needs attention is how AI will impact the efficiency of Indian industry—and how related challenges such as employment are dealt with,' he said. CII expects India's real GDP to grow by 6.4-6.7% in FY26. 'This projection, generated through CII's GDP growth model, reinforces India's position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world,' Memani said. To ensure India doesn't fall behind in the AI race, CII has proposed setting up a National AI Authority to coordinate policy, infrastructure, and adoption. The body would also support investments in semiconductor fabrication facilities, cloud infrastructure, and AI skilling programs, he said. Given the rise in global protectionism and trade uncertainty, Memani emphasized that domestic consumption remains India's primary growth driver. 'India is becoming increasingly reliant on it to sustain momentum,' he said.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Mumbai civic body invites expression of interest for textile museum on mill site
Mumbai: BMC has invited expressions of interest (EOI) from reputed public companies, charitable trusts or societies for the development and long-term maintenance of a textile museum at the site of the India United Mill No. 2 & 3 in Byculla (East). The proposed museum is to be established on a 44,000 sq m plot — C.S. No. 831 of Mazgaon Division — at Kalachowky, with the selected partner expected to develop, operate, and maintain the facility for a period of 20 years without any financial commitment from the BMC. The civic body has positioned this initiative as part of a CSR-driven or privately funded heritage conservation effort, requiring an investment of Rs 80 crore to 100 crore from the selected entity. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai The EOI documents can be accessed on the BMC website and the deadline for submission is 3.30 pm on July 28. Interested parties must submit their proposals to the office of the executive engineer (headquarters) at the BMC main office in Fort. The BMC took over India United Mills 2 and 3 at Kalachowkie in 2009 to bring to life the mill culture through the museum on an area of 44,000 square metres. The project aims to restore the old mill buildings into a textile museum while also developing recreational spaces within the compound with the aim of educating the citizens about Mumbai's rich industrial history. Over the past few years, the civic body launched work on the establishment of a musical fountain over a pond, murals, and an amphitheatre, among other recreational spaces within the compound of the mill. According to the BMC, the work on this phase has now been concluded, with the final commissioning of the musical fountain underway. Launching the next phase of works, the civic body is now set to commence the restoration of the dilapidated mill structures, which will be redeveloped into a textile museum. The first phase work cost the BMC Rs 25 crore.
The Hindu
36 minutes ago
- The Hindu
We are game for competition: HAL chief
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), which will have to compete with private firms for manufacturing India's indigenous fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme, has welcomed the government's move to involve private players. In May, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the execution model for AMCA and opened the doors for the private sector to compete with the Bengaluru-headquartered defence PSU to manufacture the indigenous fifth generation fighter jet. End of monopoly This move ended the monopoly which HAL enjoyed for years when it came to the building prototypes and manufacturing of fighter jets. HAL chairman and managing director D.K. Sunil said that the PSU had no problem with this move by the government. 'We have no problem with that; we are a very capable company and we are not really afraid of competition. The idea is to develop alternative players to HAL so we are ok with that. We will definitely participate [in the bidding] and we are willing to work with partners to see how to take it forward,' Dr. Sunil told The Hindu. 'I would not take it in a negative sense that our monopoly is ending in that sense. We are a government company and we have been working since 85 years in the interest of the nation; so I think we are ok with that. We do not see any issue in that,' he added. Under discussion Asked if HAL had responded to the Expression of Interest (EoI) issued by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) which is executing the programme, Dr. Sunil said, 'The last date is sometime in August. So we will definitely work on this. We are still discussing, we are looking at the details of how the evaluation will be done. We have already issued an EoI to 21 of our partners who have responded that they are interested.' He added that there were three options before HAL — either to go solo or as a consortium, or go as a joint venture — and that it will evaluate and take a decision in the coming month. LCA delays On the delay in the delivery schedule for the LCA Mk-1A variant and on the criticism by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, the HAL chairman reiterated that it was due to the GE Aerospace missing deadline for supply of engines. 'The primary reason is the engine. When he (IAF chief) mentioned in February (about not being confident of HAL during Aero India) we did not have a single engine from GE though the airframe was ready,' Dr. Sunil said. He added that the first engine came in April and that GE had promised the second engine in July. 'Apart from the engines we also have issues regarding the software, the radar, and the missiles. There have been some issues with iterations of the software so both these issues contributed but the engine was the most dominant,' he added.
