India / Bhārata: Indian data center boom to see industry capacity double by 2023

India's data center industry is growing at a rapid rate following a rise in digitalisation and the "ambitious growth plans of data centre operators." As a result, the market is anticipated to double by 2023, reaching over 1,000 MW, that's according to JLL's 'H1 2021 India Data Center Market Update.'

Rachit Mohan, Head, Data Centre Advisory-India; Co-Head, Office Leasing Advisory, Mumbai, JLL, said: "The demand momentum which picked up tempo in 2020, continues to develop unabated. The Indian knowledge centre business witnessed 46.4 MW absorption throughout H1 2021 – equal to 90 per cent of provide addition in the course of the interval (H1 2021), indicating sturdy absorption progress."

He explained that demand has surged due to digital usage from a "distributed workforce" as well as "growing data security concerns" and "business disruptions". Moreover, the rollout of 5G is also expected to drive data consumption too. The last six months has also seen global industry players and investors committing to joint ventures.

Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research & REIS (India), JLL, commented: "Investment commitments to the tune of USD 3 billion highlight the growth potential."

Meanwhile, speaking about what the data reveals, Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research & REIS (India), JLL, said Mumbai, which currently accounts for 45% of the country's total capacity, is expected to grow by 267MW in the next two years.

Digital Realty, Google, AWS and Microsoft are just some of the big names that are currently investing in India and contributing to its data center boom.

Of course, as data centers expand in the country, environmental and sustainability targets must be kept in mind, considering that greenhouse gas emissions emitted by India are the third largest in the world, producing 7% of global emissions.