Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi’s BJP-led government and its corporate allies, such as Gautam Adani, are looking at the lucrative data center market to support the expansion AI led data center infrastructure. According to estimates by Morgan Stanley, the global data center market is valued at around $3 trillion. As part of this market, the Google is planning to invest $15 billion in India, Microsoft around $17.5 billion, and Amazon approximately $35 billion over the next few years. India is targeting nearly $200 billion in total investment in data centers. Modi’s billionaire friend, Adani, and his group are reportedly planning to invest around $100 billion by 2035 to develop infrastructure for AI-focused data centers. Other private companies have also pledged investments in building data center capacity in the country.The Government of India, led by Modi, has already introduced tax holiday provisions through 2027 in the Union Budget 2026–27 to attract foreign companies to invest in data centers. This corporate tax bonanza for platform companies is likely to deepen digital capitalism in India without addressing the country’s fundamental digital and economic challenges.

If operationalised, these investments could create a promising market for the growth of the real estate sector, encourage domestic investment, and generate both direct and indirect employment in data centers and their ancillary industries. They could also energise IT education and expand employment opportunities in the technology sector. Overall, such investments may accelerate the growth of India’s service sector. On the basis of these investment commitments, India is now planning to develop an AI “data city,” which sounds promising—especially at a time when many people are........

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