1 week ago
Mumbai Leads India’s Data Centre Boom as Hyderabad Surges
Data centres are large buildings that store and process information for the internet, cloud services and artificial intelligence.
Mumbai is already one of the world’s 15 biggest data centre markets.
It has 774 megawatts of working capacity and nearly 5 gigawatts of new capacity planned.
Hyderabad has less capacity today, but its planned expansion is about 15 times larger than its current base.
Mumbai benefits from strong internet connections, subsea cables and nearby financial businesses.
Hyderabad attracts companies with available land, supportive policies and lower operating costs.
Other Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and the National Capital Region, are also growing.
The main challenge is making sure these facilities receive enough electricity, connectivity and suitable sites.
Artificial intelligence needs especially powerful computers and advanced cooling systems, making infrastructure planning even more important.
Mumbai ranks 15th globally in operational data centre capacity, with 774 MW live and nearly 5 GW in development.
Hyderabad ranks 27th for operational capacity, with 151 MW live and more than 2.2 GW planned.
Hyderabad’s pipeline is roughly 15 times its existing capacity, compared with about 6.4 times for Mumbai.
Cloud migration and artificial intelligence workloads are driving global data centre investment and capacity expansion.
India’s growth could be constrained by power availability, transmission, approvals, fibre connectivity and sustainable energy supply.
- Who
- Knight Frank assessed India’s data centre markets; Mumbai and Hyderabad are the leading named markets, with comments from Knight Frank India Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Baijal.
- What
- India’s data centre capacity and development pipeline are expanding rapidly, with Mumbai reaching global scale and Hyderabad recording substantial planned growth.
- Where
- The expansion is focused on India, especially Mumbai and Hyderabad, alongside Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, the National Capital Region, Visakhapatnam and Jamnagar.
- When
- The findings are from the Knight Frank Global Data Centre Atlas 2026, covering expected global capacity delivery from 2026 to 2029.
- Why
- Cloud computing, artificial intelligence, enterprise demand and hyperscale investment are increasing demand for digital infrastructure.
Key facts
- Mumbai live capacity
- 774 MW of operational IT capacity
- Mumbai development pipeline
- Nearly 5 GW
- Hyderabad live capacity
- 151 MW of operational IT capacity
- Hyderabad development pipeline
- More than 2.2 GW
- Global market value
- The stabilised global data centre market was valued at $1.95 trillion, up 39.3% from 2024
- Global capacity expansion
- About 48 GW of additional capacity is expected between 2026 and 2029
- AI-related capacity
- Projected to increase from about 8 GW to 27 GW
Quotes
Shishir Baijal
Knight Frank India Chairman and Managing Director
“Faster power provisioning, expansion of renewable energy capacity, accelerated transmission upgrades, streamlined approvals and the availability of large development-ready sites”
financialexpress.com










