India’s data centre industry is entering a new phase of expansion as developers move beyond traditional land sales to offer fully integrated, plug-and-play campuses. This shift is being driven by soaring demand from hyperscalers, cloud service providers, and AI-led workloads.
Developers say that land for data centres is no longer a simple industrial plot purchase. Operators now require highly engineered sites with pre-installed electricity, fibre connectivity, cooling systems and sustainability-focused infrastructure. As a result, developers across hubs such as Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Noida are offering ready-built shells, specialised land parcels and high-capacity utility infrastructure to speed up deployment.
The data centre market is witnessing a shift in how land is acquired and facilities are built, fuelled by the rapid growth of cloud, AI and digital services. Traditionally, operators purchased raw industrial land and set up facilities from scratch. But with deployment cycles tightening and global cloud players scaling faster, developers are now delivering powered-shell and plug-and-play campuses.
A senior executive from a data centre developer said that clients now prioritise “speed, scalability and power assurance.” He emphasised that the previous model of buying plain land and constructing everything independently is becoming obsolete, as developers are now offering sites with pre-installed power, fibre and compliance systems.
Amit Sarin, Managing Director of Anant Raj Limited, said the Indian market is shifting decisively toward plug-and-play parks. These parks provide built-to-spec shells, co-location-ready environments, high-voltage power availability and streamlined regulatory processes, significantly reducing commissioning timelines.
Also Read: Biocon Shares Drop 5% After Citi Double-Downgrades Stock to ‘Sell’
Data centre land is usually classified under industrial use and is acquired through four models: direct purchase, long-term leasing, government-allotted industrial plots, and joint development with private landowners.
The choice of model depends on cost, location and available infrastructure. Hyperscale facilities typically require 10–50 acres, while colocation units need 2–5 acres. Edge data centres are smaller, ranging from 0.5–2 acres.
A developer noted that large hyperscale operators prefer direct land ownership for 50–100 MW expansions, whereas colocation players commonly choose long-term leases. However, all buyers share a common requirement—power-rich, fibre-dense, high-quality land.
Developers noted that states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka provide subsidised industrial land along with incentives like tariff rebates and capital subsidies. Sarin added that state-level incentives, including single-window clearances, are helping accelerate digital infrastructure growth and supporting India’s data localisation goals.
Developers today offer campuses equipped with dual or triple 50–100 MW power feeds, carrier-neutral fibre networks, cooling and electrical backbones, substation-ready infrastructure, and sustainability systems such as heat-recovery units and recycled water plants.
Sarin said that well-managed co-location-ready facilities—where utilities, security and operational systems are already established—provide scalable solutions that drastically improve deployment timelines.
Surajit Chatterjee, Managing Director and Head of Data Centre, India, CapitaLand Investment, said that India is transitioning from standalone projects to large, integrated campuses. These campuses provide pre-planned land parcels, pre-approved master plans, high-speed fibre, guaranteed power allocation and built-to-suit shells that can go live quickly.
He added that this integrated approach is reducing the typical 28–30-month timeline from land acquisition to operations, enabling hyperscalers to commit to long-term leases of 10–15 years.
Major hubs such as Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Noida and Hyderabad are seeing the strongest traction due to their power availability, fibre density and regulatory support. Tier-II cities are also emerging as key locations for edge data centres.
Developers said AI and GPU-heavy workloads are pushing demand for large, modular campuses capable of phased expansion. Chatterjee noted that India’s installed capacity has grown from 350 MW pre-COVID to 1.2 GW today and is projected to reach nearly 3 GW by 2028, driven by hyperscaler expansion and rising enterprise workloads.
With demand accelerating, experts expect plug-and-play data centre parks to become the industry norm.
Click here to explore
Gift Nifty
FII DII Data
IPO
Shares of Yes Bank and Union Bank of India gained up to 3% on December…
DGCA Steps In With Temporary Rule Relaxation as IndiGo Flight Cancellations Deepen Across India In…
Petronet LNG’s stock saw a sharp upmove on December 4, rising more than 4 percent…
The domestic equity market staged a sharp recovery on Friday as the Sensex surged over…
India’s financial markets have entered a phase defined by conflicting forces, as the Reserve Bank…
The momentum in public sector bank (PSU bank) stocks took a noticeable pause this week…
This website uses cookies.