Mumbai and Chennai to lead data centers for India’s trillion-dollar digital economy growth

India’s data centre industry is poised for a sustained period of growth. A joint study by Nxtra by Airtel and JLL India said that the expansion of the Indian data centre industry will be supported by the accelerated adoption of digital infrastructure led by the pandemic, rising digital usage, cloud consumption and the national 5G rollout.

Mumbai and Chennai are expected to be the largest beneficiaries of potential growth in India’s data centre market due to their business and infrastructure advantages, strategic location, and cable landing stations that are well-positioned to support this growth.

Rachit Mohan, Head, Data Centre Advisory, India, JLL, said, “India’s digital transformation is expected to create an economic value of $1 trillion by 2025. Apart from existing sectors, new areas like agriculture, healthcare, logistics, jobs and skills market, e-governance and other areas, coupled with advanced technologies, will lead to significant growth of data storage and computing. The Indian data centre industry will act as the backbone, enabling India to emerge as a global hub.”

The study also highlighted that while India’s data centre future will largely depend on coastal cities with ready access to cable landing stations, landlocked cities like Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Pune will also be beneficiaries of a growing data centre industry.

Rajesh Tapadia, CEO, Nxtra by Airtel, said, “The data centre industry is witnessing exponential growth, given India’s strategic location in the region. Chennai with its host of infrastructure advantages like highest internet speeds in the country, availability of submarine cable landing infrastructure, land supply, green energy options, supportive government policies and skilled manpower will emerge as the next data centre hub after Mumbai. As the industry attains infrastructure status, data centre expansion will further accelerate and with it the inherent need for sustainable measures.”