NEW DELHI — India’s data center capacity is expected to grow more than fourfold by 2030, creating about 100,000 engineering jobs across artificial intelligence, cooling systems, smart grids, renewable energy integration and advanced digital infrastructure, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said Friday.
Speaking at the annual leadership summit of the American Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi, Singh said India’s data center capacity is projected to rise from 1.5 gigawatts to nearly 6.5 gigawatts by the end of the decade.
Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, said India’s rapidly developing technology ecosystem is being shaped by artificial intelligence, 6G, semiconductors and digital public infrastructure. He said those sectors are opening major opportunities for global investment and technology partnerships.
India is entering a phase in which data centers, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and next-generation digital infrastructure will influence the future global economy, Singh said. He added that global companies increasingly look to India as a technology partner, rather than India waiting for breakthroughs from elsewhere.
Singh said India is positioned to become a trusted global data center hub, supported by policy reforms, private-sector investment, clean energy integration and a growing innovation ecosystem.
The data economy, he said, should not be viewed only as a technological shift but as a strategic national opportunity that will shape investment, employment, energy systems and geopolitical competitiveness for decades.
Calling data centers the “next oil economy,” Singh said future economic power will increasingly depend on data control, digital infrastructure and secure technology systems. He said India needs an integrated national strategy involving government, industry, infrastructure providers, telecom networks, renewable energy companies and research institutions to capture opportunities in hyperscale data centers and co-location markets.
Singh also pointed to India’s progress in frontier technologies, including quantum communications. He said the National Quantum Mission has already met more than half of its planned targets in less than half the allotted time. India had set a goal of building 2,000 kilometers of secure quantum communication infrastructure over eight years and has already crossed 1,000 kilometers in three years, he said.
The minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government with taking major policy steps to prepare India for future technologies and strategic industries. He cited long-term tax incentives for foreign cloud service providers, the National Research Foundation, the Semiconductor Mission and the opening of sectors such as space and nuclear energy to private participation.
Singh said many of those reforms would have been considered unlikely a few years ago, but India has shown the political will to move quickly in areas central to future economic growth and technological leadership.
India’s data center growth will depend on resilient supply chains, sustainable energy systems, advanced telecom connectivity, subsea cable infrastructure, smart cooling technology and coordinated policy support, Singh said. He added that closer alignment between government policy and private-sector participation has created an environment in which India can become one of the world’s most dependable digital infrastructure destinations. (Source: IANS)
