New Delhi — Microsoft on Thursday launched its India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad, expanding its cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure as demand for digital services accelerates across India.
The Hyderabad facility is Microsoft’s fourth cloud region in the country, joining existing regions in Pune, Chennai and Mumbai. The company also operates two data centers in partnership with Jio, which it says gives Microsoft the largest hyperscale cloud footprint in India.
The new region includes three Availability Zones designed to improve reliability and business continuity. Microsoft said the infrastructure was built in accordance with India’s regulatory standards and seismic-zone requirements.
Customers will be able to run eligible Microsoft Cloud services and workloads within India, giving businesses more options to meet data residency, security, compliance and governance requirements. The region is also designed to support large-scale, mission-critical systems.
Microsoft said its Azure cloud platform has recorded strong double-digit growth in India during the past two years. The company expects demand to increase further as businesses expand their use of cloud computing and generative AI.
Adani Group, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and PB Pay are among the companies that received early access to the Hyderabad region.
Microsoft said the new infrastructure will help organizations modernize core technology systems, introduce digital products and deploy AI applications while maintaining regulatory and security safeguards.
The launch follows a series of major investment commitments by Microsoft in India. The company announced a $3 billion investment in January 2025 and followed it with a $17.5 billion commitment in December 2025 to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in the country.
Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, said organizations need trusted digital infrastructure located close to where their data is stored and business decisions are made.
He added that such infrastructure will be important as companies seek to move beyond AI experiments and generate lasting business value from the technology. (Source: IANS)
