India eyes $200B in data center investment push

India is aiming to attract up to $200 billion in data center investments in the coming years as it intensifies efforts to position itself as a global hub for artificial intelligence, the country’s minister for electronics and information technology said Tuesday.

The planned influx of capital highlights India’s growing role as a critical technology and talent base in the global race for AI leadership, News.Az reports, citing AP.

For New Delhi, such investments promise high-value infrastructure and substantial foreign capital that could accelerate the country’s broader digital transformation agenda.

The initiative comes as governments worldwide compete to harness AI’s economic potential while managing concerns over job displacement, regulatory challenges and the concentration of computing power in a handful of wealthy nations and corporations.

“Today, India is being seen as a trusted AI partner to the Global South nations seeking open, affordable and development-focused solutions,” Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in an email interview with The Associated Press. His remarks coincide with New Delhi hosting a major AI Impact Summit this week, drawing at least 20 global leaders and leading technology executives.

Major global technology firms have already unveiled substantial investment plans in India. In October, Google announced a $15 billion commitment over five years to establish its first artificial intelligence hub in the country. Two months later, Microsoft pledged $17.5 billion — its largest-ever investment in Asia — to strengthen India’s cloud and AI infrastructure over four years. Amazon has also committed $35 billion by 2030 to expand its operations in India, with a particular focus on AI-driven digitization. Together, these and other prospective commitments form part of the $200 billion investment pipeline New Delhi hopes to realize.

Vaishnaw emphasized that India’s approach is centered on ensuring artificial intelligence delivers measurable, large-scale impact rather than remaining confined to elite technological circles.

“A trusted AI ecosystem will attract investment and accelerate adoption,” he said, noting that infrastructure development is a cornerstone of the national strategy.

To support this, the government has introduced a long-term tax holiday for data centers to provide policy certainty and draw global investors. It has also operationalized a shared computing facility equipped with more than 38,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), enabling startups, researchers and public institutions to access advanced computing power without heavy upfront expenditures.

“AI must not become exclusive. It must remain widely accessible,” Vaishnaw said.

Alongside infrastructure expansion, India is investing in sovereign foundational AI models trained on Indian languages and tailored to local contexts. According to the minister, some of these models meet international benchmarks and, in certain tasks, rival widely used large language models.

India is also seeking a greater role in shaping global AI governance. Vaishnaw said the country does not view itself solely as a “rule maker or rule taker,” but rather as an active participant in crafting practical and workable global norms while expanding its AI services footprint worldwide.

“India will become a major provider of AI services in the near future,” he said, describing the country’s strategy as “self-reliant yet globally integrated” across applications, models, semiconductor chips, infrastructure and energy.

Boosting investor confidence remains a priority as global technology funding grows more cautious. Vaishnaw pointed to the government’s AI Mission program, which focuses on sector-specific solutions through public-private partnerships, as evidence of execution-backed ambition.

Recognizing concerns that AI could disrupt white-collar and technology jobs, the government is also prioritizing workforce reskilling. AI education is being expanded across universities, training initiatives and online platforms to cultivate a large pool of AI-ready talent, the minister said. Widespread 5G connectivity and a young, tech-savvy population are expected to further accelerate AI adoption nationwide.

At the same time, balancing innovation with safeguards remains a challenge, particularly as AI expands into sensitive sectors such as governance, health care and finance.

Vaishnaw outlined a four-pronged strategy that includes developing implementable global frameworks, building trusted AI infrastructure, regulating harmful misinformation and strengthening both human and technical capacity to mitigate risks.

“The future of AI should be inclusive, distributed and development-focused,” he said.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev