India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has restarted consultations on its draft national data centre policy, five years after it was first announced, The Economic Times of India, has reported.
The government is seeking to update its approach to attracting investment in the sector, which has seen rapid expansion, fuelled largely by AI-led growth. A limited stakeholder meeting took place last week, with industry representatives asked to submit recommendations. The original policy was intended to make India a more favourable location for data centres by providing single-window permissions, streamlining approvals, and offering incentives.
Despite many of the draft policy’s suggestions, such as dedicated ‘Data Centre Economic Zones’, being discussed, a significant challenge remains: securing permissions. While ten states have their own policies offering single-window clearance, obtaining the necessary approvals can still be a lengthy and complex process requiring over 30 separate permissions.
This complexity influences where companies choose to build. According to a Colliers India report, roughly 80% of India’s data centre capacity is concentrated in three major metropolitan areas. The government is now keen to distribute this capacity more evenly and plans to adopt elements from successful state-level policies. India’s data centre capacity, which currently stands at 1,263 MW, is projected to exceed 4,500 MW by 2030, with an anticipated investment of up to $25 billion.
