India’s data centre sector could attract investments of more than $200 billion as the country rapidly builds AI-ready digital infrastructure, with nuclear energy emerging as a critical source of clean and reliable power, Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday.
Vaishnaw noted that investment proposals worth $90 billion have already been announced, of which nearly $70 billion has moved into the construction phase. “For the long-term sustenance of the AI economy, clean and stable power is essential, and nuclear energy will play a vital role,” he said, highlighting the scale of data centre expansion underway in the country.
Major global technology firms have already committed large investments. Between October and December, Google announced $15 billion, Microsoft $17.5 billion, Amazon $35 billion, and Digital Connexion $11 billion toward AI infrastructure, including data centres in India.
To accelerate growth, the Union Budget has proposed a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies providing global cloud services using data centres located in India, subject to services for Indian customers being routed through Indian reseller entities. A 15% safe harbour on costs has also been proposed for related-party data centre services.
Parliament has further cleared the SHANTI nuclear energy bill, opening the civil nuclear sector to private participation—an important enabler for powering large-scale AI infrastructure.
Vaishnaw said these policy moves are triggering interest across the AI value chain, from AI server manufacturing to chip assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP). He added that India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 will strengthen domestic capabilities in equipment, materials, design, and core semiconductor functions.
“With infrastructure, chips, energy and talent coming together, India’s AI ecosystem is poised for a multiplier impact on the economy,” the minister said, underscoring India’s ambition to become a global AI infrastructure hub.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.
