The Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry held a CEO Roundtable on making it easier to do business in India’s data centre sector. Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal chaired the meeting at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi. The government believes the country can attract around USD 200 billion in investments for data centre infrastructure in the coming years.
What the roundtable covered
The meeting brought together federal and state government officials, senior leaders from global tech companies, data centre operators, investors and infrastructure providers. Representatives came from eight states: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Around 46 data centre companies participated.
Discussions centred on four main challenges:
- Power supply: Participants discussed ways to ensure steady electricity availability, including cluster-based transmission planning, dedicated power feeders and making it easier for companies to buy renewable energy across state lines.
- Land: The need for land banks already prepared and ready for data centre use, with power infrastructure already in place.
- Approvals: Streamlined single-window clearances and building regulations designed specifically for data centres to reduce project timelines.
- Building standards: The National Building Code 2026 now formally recognises data centres as a separate category with dedicated guidelines covering fire safety and performance measures.
The minister noted that hyperscalers accounted for more than 80 per cent of data centre demand in the first half of 2026, driven by cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads. He stated that India’s growth rate stood at 7.8 per cent in the first quarter.
What this means for you
If you work in technology, infrastructure or manufacturing, this signals that India is positioning itself as a major global hub for data storage and AI computing. Easier approvals and better power supply could mean more investment flowing into related sectors and job creation. For students considering careers in data centres, telecom infrastructure or AI, India’s push to become a data centre destination suggests growing opportunities in these fields.