India’s Data Centre Footprint Projected to Reach 101 Million Sq Ft by 2030, Backed by $300 Billion in Investments

India’s data centre sector is experiencing rapid expansion, transitioning into a major real estate and infrastructure story. A recent report by ANAROCK Capital projects that the country’s data centre footprint will nearly quadruple, growing from nearly 27 million sq ft in the first half of 2026 to over 101 million sq ft by 2030. This compares to a modest footprint of just 0.6 million sq ft in 2007.

This growth is backed by more than $300 billion in investment commitments, highlighting the significant scale of capital flowing into the infrastructure supporting India’s digital economy. Shobhit Agarwal, CEO of ANAROCK Capital, noted that data centres are highly infrastructure-intensive assets requiring large land parcels, substantial power capacity, advanced cooling systems, robust connectivity, and operational resilience, setting them apart from conventional office or industrial developments.

The expansion in physical space is accompanied by an even sharper increase in computing capacity. India's data centre capacity, which stood below 1 GW a few years ago, crossed 1.8 GW in the first half of 2026. It is expected to exceed 6.7 GW by 2030, more than tripling over a four-year period. This demand is primarily fueled by rising cloud adoption, artificial intelligence workloads, digital services, and overall data consumption.

Consequently, the nature of demand around data centres is shifting. Operators are increasingly competing for strategic access to land, reliable power, renewable energy, fibre connectivity, and specialised engineering and cooling infrastructure. Agarwal emphasised that this expansion represents a specialised asset class at the intersection of real estate, technology, and infrastructure, which will drive demand for related construction, engineering, and cooling solutions.

On a global scale, India is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets, expanding at roughly two to three times the global average. Globally, data centre capacity crossed 92 GW in the first half of 2026 and is projected to surpass 210 GW by the end of 2030, supported by global investment commitments of around $3 trillion during the same period.

Despite strong demand, the next phase of growth in India will face constraints tied directly to physical infrastructure. The ability of developers to secure large land parcels, bring adequate power online, access renewable energy, and establish high-capacity connectivity will ultimately dictate the rollout of the next generation of data centres across the country.

"The massive projected growth in India's data centre footprint highlights a fundamental shift in how digital infrastructure intersects with traditional real estate and heavy utilities. With over $300 billion in investment commitments, the challenge for the ecosystem moving forward will not be a lack of demand, but rather the physical execution of securing reliable power, renewable energy, and large land parcels. This creates significant downstream opportunities for engineering, construction, and power sectors as India cements its position as a leading global digital hub." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes