India may need 40–45 TWH more power and 50 million sq ft real estate for AI-linked data centres by 2030: Report
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The report underscores the need for significant investments and targeted policy interventions to position India as a global hub for AI-enabled data centres. 'For India to accelerate its AI capabilities and realise its potential, it is necessary to introduce enabling policies to support the sector,' said S. Anjani Kumar, Partner at Deloitte India.
The study identifies six pillars crucial to developing an AI-ready ecosystem in India: real estate, power and utilities infrastructure, connectivity and network infrastructure, compute infrastructure, talent, and policy framework. It also estimates the total investment required for the 47 GW AI data centre pipeline at around $360 billion.
"India's strategic location allows it to serve domestic and global markets effectively," said Neha Aggarwal, Partner at Deloitte India. She added that building scalable power, cooling systems, and efficient network infrastructure would be necessary to attract global investments.
The report notes that while India benefits from lower land and labour costs, substantial construction is still required. Interest in colocation models is rising, supported by government incentives through state data centre policies.
Deloitte also highlighted policy gaps. It recommended introducing a separate category for data centres in the National Building Code, recognising them under the Essential Services Maintenance Act, and setting up dedicated data centre facilitation units to streamline approvals.
The growth of data centres has increased pressure on India's power infrastructure. Deloitte suggests that expanding generation capacity, modernising the grid, and integrating renewable energy will be essential. 'Building a supportive policy framework for dedicated power supply infrastructure and improving renewable energy banking policies across states will be critical,' the report said.
On the connectivity front, limited fibre optic reach, high latency, and unreliable internet remain bottlenecks. Policy support such as access to dark fibre, easing regulatory frameworks for terrestrial and subsea networks, and improving last-mile connectivity are recommended.
For compute infrastructure, the report emphasises enhancing GPU supply, encouraging GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), and attracting foreign investment to build Exaflop-scale capacity. It also calls for Government-to-Government discussions to mitigate impacts of restrictive policies like the US AI Diffusion Framework on GPU imports.
Deloitte highlighted talent development as another key area. The report recommended specialised training programmes and strengthening of AI research institutions in India.
The firm also suggested policy updates such as Text and Data Mining (TDM) exceptions under the Copyright Act, streamlined data localisation rules, and creating dedicated data centre zones. Revisions to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 and the Telecommunication Act, 2023 were also proposed to exclude data centres from surveillance provisions and align operational realities.
The report concludes that coordinated public–private investments and a comprehensive policy overhaul are critical for India to meet its AI infrastructure requirements and become a leading global AI data centre destination.>
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