With demand for AI computing surging worldwide, India is accelerating its push into large-scale AI infrastructure, aiming to attract more than $200 billion (₹16-17 lakh crore) in investments by 2028. The initiative was announced at the Global AI Impact summit in New Delhi by Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and focuses on building hyperscale data centers, rapidly expanding GPU capacity for AI model training, strengthening cloud infrastructure, and supporting AI applications across sectors.
India’s plan covers the entire AI value chain, from data storage and high-performance computing to semiconductor design, renewable energy integration, and AI software ecosystems. The government expects the infrastructure layer alone to attract massive capital inflows, with around $90 billion already committed, and additional investments anticipated from global technology firms, sovereign wealth funds, and infrastructure investors.
At the core of the initiative is a rapid expansion of data-center capacity. Importantly, this latest development coincides with a major announcement by the Adani Group, which revealed plans to invest $100 billion by 2035 in renewable-powered, AI-ready hyperscale data centers, targeting around 5 gigawatts of capacity. The project is expected to catalyse a broader $250 billion ecosystem spanning servers, cloud platforms, and electrical infrastructure.
At the same time, global tech giants are also scaling up their AI and cloud infrastructure footprint in India. For example, Microsoft has outlined plans to invest about $17.5 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure, while Google has committed over $6 billion to expand data-center capacity in Andhra Pradesh. Meta is reportedly planning its first Indian data-center presence at Reliance’s Chennai campus, while last year OpenAI also indicated interest in building a gigawatt-scale facility in the country as part of its $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure initiative. On the domestic front, Reliance-backed Digital Connexion has disclosed plans for an $11 billion data-center campus in Visakhapatnam.
Another important pillar of the strategy is strengthening computing power. Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said the country currently has around 38,000 GPUs available through public and private cloud partnerships and plans to add around 20,000 more units in the near term. Earlier, the government confirmed plans to scale this capacity to over 100,000 GPUs by the end of 2026.
However, despite all such efforts, significant challenges remain. Large AI data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and water, raising concerns about sustainability and long-term resource management. India also continues to rely heavily on imported semiconductor components, while domestic chip fabrication capacity is still developing. In parallel, cybersecurity risks, the need for accelerated workforce reskilling, and the broader social and employment impacts of AI-driven automation remain critical issues that policymakers must address.
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