Piyush Goyal Highlights $200 Billion Investment Potential In India’s Data Centre Sector

New Delhi: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said India has the potential to attract around $200 billion in investments in its rapidly expanding data centre industry, as the government works to improve ease of doing business and position the country as a major global hub for digital infrastructure.

Chairing a CEO Roundtable on “Ease of Doing Business for Scaling India’s Data Centre Ecosystem” at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi, Goyal said India was an attractive destination for setting up data centres and that discussions between the Centre, states and industry had already helped address several key issues. 

The roundtable was organised as a follow-up to an earlier meeting to strengthen the ecosystem for the rapid and sustainable expansion of the data centre sector. Discussions focused on faster deployment of infrastructure, reliable power supply, ready-to-use land, regulatory reforms and fiscal issues. 

According to the government, the growing demand for cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence workloads is driving the expansion of India's data centre sector. Hyperscalers accounted for more than 80 per cent of data centre absorption during the first half of 2026, highlighting India's growing importance as an AI infrastructure destination. 

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 land parcels was also highlighted. 

The meeting also reviewed regulatory reforms aimed at reducing project timelines and improving investment certainty through streamlined single-window approvals and appropriate building regulations.

A key development highlighted during the discussions was the National Building Code 2026, which now specifically recognises data centres under Group E. The code also includes a dedicated annex covering requirements for data centres, including fire-risk assessments and sector-specific performance indicators. 

The roundtable was attended by representatives of the Central and state governments, global hyperscalers, data centre developers and operators, investors and infrastructure providers. Senior representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, along with representatives from around 46 data centre companies, participated in the discussions. 

The government said the dialogue would form the basis for actionable, time-bound reforms aimed at accelerating investments and innovation, strengthening India's digital infrastructure and positioning the country as a trusted global data centre hub.