India has emerged as the second-largest data centre market in the Asia-Pacific region, with 1.6 GW of operational capacity, and ranks among the top three markets by development pipeline, with 3.1 GW under construction or planned, according to a new report released on 27 May 2025 by global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The findings position India as one of the region's most consequential growth markets for digital infrastructure, driven by accelerating AI adoption, hyperscale cloud expansion, and rising enterprise demand.

India's Multi-City Data Centre Ecosystem

India's data centre footprint spans six cities — Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Bengaluru — all included among the 107 global markets evaluated in the Cushman & Wakefield report. This multi-market presence distinguishes India from single-hub data centre economies in the region and provides operators with a geographically distributed deployment base.

Mumbai anchors India's position as a primary market in Asia Pacific and is expected to surpass 1 GW of operational capacity by the end of 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing data centre hubs in the region. The city's established connectivity infrastructure and proximity to submarine cable landing stations continue to draw hyperscale investment.

Secondary Markets Gaining Ground

Hyderabad has emerged as the standout secondary market, identified in the report as the top secondary data centre market in Asia Pacific and ninth globally — a ranking that underscores the city's rapid ascent in the regional data centre hierarchy. Chennai, Delhi-NCR, and Pune are also seeing rising levels of investment and development activity, gradually narrowing the gap with primary markets.

Bengaluru, long regarded as India's technology capital, is currently classified as a tertiary data centre market within the regional landscape, though its deep talent pool and enterprise IT base are expected to support gradual capacity additions.

What the Numbers Signal

Beyond the 3.1 GW under construction and planned, India holds over 10.5 GW of capacity at the land stage — a figure that reflects the scale of long-term expansion potential as operators continue to secure sites in anticipation of sustained demand. This land-stage pipeline is among the largest in the Asia-Pacific region and signals that India's current rankings may be significantly understated relative to its medium-term trajectory.

Notably, this growth is unfolding as global data centre development shifts from a demand-led phase to an execution-driven one, where power availability, infrastructure readiness, and delivery timelines are becoming as decisive as demand signals themselves.

What Industry Leaders Are Saying

Gautam Saraf, Executive Managing Director — Mumbai and New Business at Cushman & Wakefield, said: 'The global data centre sector is moving into a more execution-driven phase of growth, where access to power, infrastructure readiness and delivery capability are becoming as important as demand itself.' He added that India is 'well positioned within this shift given its combination of strong demand visibility, expanding development pipeline, and growing multi-market ecosystem across both primary and emerging locations.'

Saraf further noted: 'As capacity requirements continue to evolve, markets that can support scalable deployment, reliable infrastructure, and faster execution timelines are expected to see stronger long-term momentum.'

What Comes Next

With AI workloads intensifying power and latency requirements, India's ability to convert its land-stage pipeline into operational capacity will determine whether it closes the gap with the Asia-Pacific leader. Policy support, grid reliability, and renewable energy access are expected to be the critical variables shaping that outcome over the next three to five years.