India's data centre industry is entering a transformative phase, driven by artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, digital services and data localisation requirements. According to Knight Frank's India Data Centre Market Update 2025, the country's live data centre capacity has crossed 1.6 GW, representing more than fivefold growth from 296 MW in 2016. The sector is now emerging as a critical pillar of India's digital economy, with billions of dollars being invested in new facilities across established and emerging markets.

Mumbai, the undisputed leader

Mumbai remains the undisputed leader of India's data centre landscape, accounting for nearly 47% of the country's total live capacity. The city's dominance is supported by its role as India's financial capital, robust fibre connectivity and access to international subsea cable networks. By the end of 2025, Mumbai's live capacity had reached 766.6 MW and continues to attract hyperscale cloud providers and AI-driven infrastructure investments.

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Chennai and Hyderabad emerge as key hubs

Chennai and Hyderabad have also emerged as major hubs, with capacities of 191.5 MW and 151.4 MW, respectively. Chennai benefits from its strategic location as a gateway to Southeast Asia, while Hyderabad is rapidly positioning itself as a preferred destination for AI infrastructure and hyperscale data centres.

Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi-NCR strengthen their presence 

The report also highlights the growing importance of specialised markets such as Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi-NCR. Bengaluru, India's technology capital, has focused on high-density colocation facilities catering to research centres and Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Pune has emerged as a cost-effective alternative to Mumbai, benefiting from Maharashtra's supportive IT policies. Delhi-NCR, meanwhile, continues to serve as a critical hub for banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), government departments and public cloud providers. The region's live capacity grew by 55% between 2022 and 2025, reaching 174.5 MW.

Kolkata's connectivity boost drives growth

A major trend shaping the sector is the rise of emerging data centre destinations. Kolkata's live capacity has increased significantly to 23.1 MW and is expected to benefit from the upcoming cable landing station at Digha, which could strengthen connectivity across eastern and northeastern India.

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Visakhapatnam and Jamnagar attract mega investment

Visakhapatnam and Jamnagar are attracting some of the country's largest digital infrastructure investments. AdaniConneX and Google have announced plans to develop a gigawatt-scale AI data centre campus in Visakhapatnam, backed by an estimated investment of $15 billion over five years. Reliance Industries has proposed a 1 GW AI-focused data centre campus in Jamnagar, Gujarat, with the potential to become one of the largest facilities of its kind globally.

AI and Data Localisation Fuel Future Expansion

AI has become the biggest growth driver for the industry, accounting for 78% of data centre leasing activity in 2025, compared with just 23% a year earlier. The implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act has further accelerated demand by encouraging companies to store and process data within India. With more than 8.3 GW of future capacity in the pipeline and strong policy support from both central and state governments, India's data centre market is rapidly evolving from a domestic growth story into a globally significant AI and cloud infrastructure hub.