MANOJ PAUL
MANAGING DIRECTOR - INDIA, EQUINIX
“Data centers have become the AI spine of India's economy, and our strategy has evolved alongside that shift. Today we run five IBX facilities across Mumbai and Chennai, offering more than 14,000 cabinets on an investment of over USD 365 million. Enterprises require dense interconnection and flexibility to run AI, cloud and hybrid workloads. Our focus at Equinix is building an ecosystem rather than just square footage.
None of that scale means much if it is not built responsibly. Our Yavatmal solar project came online in November 2025, a 26.4 MWp facility under a long-term power agreement with CleanMax, supporting our push to achieve 100% renewable energy coverage by 2030. We have applied this to resilience and data sovereignty. Our infrastructure supports AI workloads that cannot go down, while helping customers work within India's data localization rules. Security is part of facility design from day one. Customers care about trust as much as capacity.
Over the next five years, India has an opportunity to become a digital hub, driven by AI infrastructure and cloud adoption. The industry must address constraints around power availability, sustainable energy, and talent. Policy will matter. The evolving tax framework is encouraging, but clarity will affect how fast capacity can come online. We are leaning into ecosystem partnerships, renewable energy investment, and infrastructure ready for AI from the ground up, so customers can scale securely, efficiently, and with confidence.”
