Real Estate Giants Drive Indias Data Center Boom As AI Surge, Policy Incentives Reshape The Sector

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Real Estate Giants Drive Indias Data Center Boom As AI Surge, Policy Incentives Reshape The Sector


India’s data center landscape is entering a defining phase, fueled by artificial intelligence (AI), rapid digital adoption, and a surge of investments from leading real estate developers. With the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) proposing a 20-year tax exemption under the Draft National Data Centre Policy 2025, the sector is poised for its strongest growth yet, reshaping how digital infrastructure is financed, built, and operated. India’s data centre capacity is expected to more than triple to 4.5 gigawatt by 2030 from current levels, according to real estate consultant Colliers. 

Several recent reports reflect India’s data center capacity growth. Avendus Capital’s 2025 report projects India’s data center capacity to nearly triple to 3 GW by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate (CAGR) of 25-30%. Rising data consumption, cloud adoption, OTT expansion, and data-localisation rules have turned the country into one of the fastest-growing digital economies globally. Another 2025 data center report by Anarock estimates India’s market size to reach USD 10 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 42% by 2030, emphasizing India’s rapid digital transformation role. While Mumbai remains the traditional hub, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune are emerging as key capacity centres, driven largely by the entry of India’s biggest developers. Key developers who have forayed into Data centers include Lodha, Adani, Anant Raj.

Anant Raj Limited, which is among the frontrunners, has leveraged its real-estate legacy to become a major player in digital infrastructure. Through its subsidiary Anant Raj Cloud, the company is building one of the largest data center portfolios in North India. In August 2025, it operationalised an additional 22 MW of IT load at its Manesar and Panchkula campuses, taking total capacity to 28 MW. Backed by a $2.1-billion capex plan, Anant Raj aims to scale to 307 MW by FY32 across Manesar, Panchkula, and Rai, targeting revenues of nearly Rs 9,000 crore by then. Its collaboration with French telecom major Orange Business brings global cloud-architecture capabilities to India.

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According to Amit Sarin, Managing Director, Anant Raj Limited, India’s data center industry is on the brink of exponential growth. “By 2033, demand is expected to touch nearly 6,000 MW while projected supply may reach only 4,500 MW, leaving a gap of over 1,500 MW. The proposed tax exemptions linked to capacity, energy efficiency, and job creation could bridge this gap by boosting capital inflows and enabling developers to scale faster,” he noted.

The data center opportunity has not gone unnoticed by other property majors. Lodha Developers, known for luxury housing, is expanding beyond residential into the digital economy after a Rs 450-crore land transaction with Amazon in Palava. The developer plans to foray into NCR’s data center market by FY26, leveraging its integrated townships and access to high-capacity power grids.

The Adani Group has also entered the segment through AdaniConneX, a joint venture with EdgeConneX, building hyperscale and edge facilities across major metros. Meanwhile, Yotta Infrastructure (Hiranandani Group) has operationalised its Yotta D1 hyperscale facility in Greater Noida, part of a six-building, Rs 39,000-crore campus offering up to 175 MW of capacity. Similarly, CtrlS Datacenters is investing $2 billion to add 350 MW of AI-ready capacity nationwide, with a major expansion in Noida.

The construction boom has entered a new chapter, powered by the AI revolution. As generative AI, machine learning, and cloud-based applications proliferate, compute and storage needs are surging. Global hyperscalers are investing aggressively; Goldman Sachs estimates that the five largest U.S. tech giants will collectively spend $736 billion in capex during 2025-26, much of it on AI infrastructure. India is emerging as an attractive parallel destination, offering scale, skilled manpower, and government support.

Not only developers, but tech giants are also ready for the leap. Tata Consultancy Services and private equity firm TPG, will form a joint venture to develop AI data centres, said the Tata arm on Thursday, with both partners set to invest a total of 180 billion rupees ($2.03 billion) in equity. MeitY’s draft policy seeks to capitalise on this momentum through long-term tax holidays, input-tax credits, and incentives linked to energy efficiency and employment generation. For developers, these measures could transform project economics, reduce upfront costs, and ensure steady returns in this capital-intensive business.


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