India's data centre sector may attract USD 20-25 bn in 6yrs to expand capacity: Colliers

New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) India's data centre industry has seen investments of nearly USD 15 billion since 2020 and is likely to attract USD 20-25 billion fund over the next six years, on rising demand, according to Colliers.

In its latest report, real estate consultant Colliers India mentioned that India's data centre capacity stands at 1,263 MW as of April 2025 across seven major cities, and the capacity is likely to cross 4,500 MW by 2030.

The existing data centre real estate footprint stands at 15.9 million sq ft, and this is expected to rise significantly, reaching about 55 million sq ft by 2030.

“The scale-up in the Indian DC industry has been accompanied by equally impressive investments in the last 5-6 years. The industry has already seen investments to the tune of USD 14.7 billion since the beginning of 2020. These investments have been largely focused on land acquisition, project construction and development, etc," the consultant said.

"In the next 5-6 years, amidst massive adoption of cloud computation and AI in India, DCs (data centres) are likely to attract investments to the tune of USD 20-25 billion," it added.

Data pertains to co-location data centres in the top 7 cities - Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Data centre capacity represents total IT load capacity, including occupied as well as unoccupied space.

"India is becoming a global DC hotspot, fuelled by rapid digitalisation, data localisation norms and strong government support. As this growth trajectory continues, India's DC capacity is likely to cross 4,500 MW in the next 5-6 years, translating into a real estate footprint of 55 million sq ft," said Jatin Shah, Chief Operating Officer, Colliers India.

India's strategic advantages, such as availability of land parcels, power supply for usage and availability of skilled talent, reinforce its position as one of the preferred destinations for data centres in the APAC region, he said.

"Interestingly, the market is expanding beyond large-scale colocation facilities and hyperscalers to edge data centres driven by increasing need for lower latency, real-time analysis, enhanced app performance, and business agility," Shah said. PTI MJH DR