Piyush Goyal Says India Is the World’s Best Location for Data Centres
Speaking at a CEO Roundtable on “Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) for Scaling India’s Data Centre Ecosystem” in New Delhi, Goyal said the meeting provided a platform for the government and industry to identify measures to further strengthen the data centre ecosystem and improve ease of doing business.
Goyal expressed confidence in India’s growth prospects despite global uncertainty and highlighted the country’s 7.8% growth in the first quarter. He said data centres, semiconductors, AI and advanced manufacturing would be key drivers of India’s economic growth and support the government’s vision of building a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047.
The Minister said investments of around USD 200 billion could potentially flow into India’s data centre sector, underlining the scale of the opportunity created by the country’s expanding digital economy and AI ecosystem. He added that discussions between central and state governments and industry stakeholders had already helped resolve several issues and could help position India as a global data centre hub.
The roundtable focused on accelerating data centre deployment and addressing key ease-of-doing-business issues related to power, land, regulatory approvals and fiscal measures. Rising demand from cloud computing and AI workloads was highlighted, with hyperscalers accounting for more than 80% of data centre absorption in the first half of 2026.
Stakeholders discussed measures to ensure adequate and reliable power supply, including cluster-based transmission and substation planning, Day-1 sanctioned load, dual power feeders and easier access to renewable energy across state boundaries. The need for data-centre-ready land banks and pre-identified power-ready parcels was also emphasised.
The discussions also covered streamlined single-window approvals and appropriate building regulations to reduce project timelines and improve investment certainty. The National Building Code 2026 now specifically recognises data centres under Group E and includes a dedicated annex covering requirements such as fire-risk assessment and data-centre-specific performance indicators.
The roundtable brought together representatives from central and state governments, global hyperscalers, data centre developers and operators, investors, infrastructure providers and other industry stakeholders. Senior representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh participated, along with representatives from around 46 data centre companies.
The dialogue is expected to provide the foundation for actionable and time-bound reforms to accelerate investment and innovation, strengthen India’s digital infrastructure and establish the country as a trusted global data centre hub.
Published on:
03 September 2026
Share:
We Value Your Comment
