India may need an additional 50 MN SQFT real estate to be in order to 2030: Deloitte Report
According to Deloitte, India may need an additional 450,000-5 million square feet of real estate and 40-45 tons of terawatt-terawatt-hours (TWH) to 2030 incremental power, according to Deloitte, to keep demand for artificial intelligence (AI).
In a report titled “Attracting Indian AI Data Center Infrastructure Investment”, Deloitte highlighted India’s cost advantages, renewable energy priorities and strategic geographical location, but warned that the country’s emergence as a global AI hub is in bridging critical infrastructure, talent and policy gaps.
According to the latest report from Deloitte India, the country may need an additional 450,000-500,000 square feet of real estate space and 40-45 Terawatt hours (TWH) by 2030 to meet the growing demand for AI.
The report identifies six pillars for building a world-class AI ecosystem: real estate, power and utilities, connectivity, computing infrastructure, talent and policy frameworks.
It calls for targeted interventions, such as separate categories of data centers in the National Building Code and endorsement under the Basic Services Maintenance Act, to inspire professional infrastructure.
It notes that fast tracking and simplifying approvals by setting up data center convenience devices can help improve data center deployment.
Deloitte calls for policy support, simplifying localization specifications for data and creating dedicated data center areas, which it believes is key to strengthening India’s AI infrastructure.
“In addition, under the 2023 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to modify the data access regulations to reflect the operational reality of data centers and to exclude data centers from surveillance in Telecommunation Act, in 2023, the key policy support required for the Indian data center capabilities will be provided in 2023.”
In addition, implementing safe harbor rules for data hosting service providers and establishing data embassies will catalyze investments and lead the data center revolution in India. ”
Deloitte warned that the expansion of rapid data centers would exacerbate pressure on the Indian power grid, requiring urgent investments to expand power generation capacity, upgrade infrastructure and better integrate renewable energy.
Despite great improvements, India is still facing network and connectivity challenges, such as limited fiber coverage in rural areas, unreliable high-speed internet and high latency, which limit the country’s full potential in building data centers, Deloitte said.
“A greater focus on building high-performance computing infrastructure, scalable power and cooling systems and effective network infrastructure through reconsideration of policy frameworks can make India a hot spot for AI-driven data center development in the coming years,” said Neha Aggarwal, partner at Deloitte India.
