The Hidden Cost Of Compute

India’s data centre boom is scaling fast, but beneath the momentum lies a deeper question of ownership, resources, and who captures value in the AI economy.

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India is in the middle of a full-blown data centre buildout, with global tech giants stepping in, backed by government support across policy, land, and infrastructure. From global hyperscalers to domestic infrastructure players, billions of dollars are flowing into server farms, cloud regions, and AI-ready capacity across the country. 

To put it into perspective, the market size reached a valuation of ₹9.33 Lakh Cr in 2025 and is projected to more than double to ₹20.53 Lakh Cr by 2030.

The scale of this push is already visible on the ground. Google has begun constructing a $15 Bn AI data centre hub in Visakhapatnam to deliver large-scale computing power, enhance global connectivity, and support India’s fast-growing digital and AI-driven economy.

Microsoft has also committed $3 Bn to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in India, while AWS continues to scale its local footprint alongside large capacity additions from players like AdaniConneX, STT GDC, and CtrlS across Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

But with all this momentum, more pressing questions emerge. 

Does India have enough natural resources to sustain this boom? Who are the true beneficiaries of India’s data centre surge? Is this infrastructure building domestic capability or enabling global extraction? What’s the real cost of sustaining this infra? Finally, does India control the value it is helping create? Let’s try to answer some of these questions in this edition of The AI Shift. 

Numbers Look Good… But Look Closer

India’s data centre story looks compelling – lower land and labour costs, improving infrastructure, and a rapidly digitising economy. All these factors position India as a natural contender in the global race to host cloud regions and AI workloads. 

But beneath this momentum lies a more complex reality. The same factors that make India........

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