India needs to develop more data center cities: CtrlS' Vipin Jain
data center cities
to cater to the immense computing requirements of artificial intelligence (AI) and fifth-generation (5G)-driven services, according to a top executive of
CtrlS Datacenters
.
Vipin Jain
, president (datacenter operations), CtrlS Datacenters, told
ETTelecom
that more efforts are needed beyond allotting lands at market rates and waiving stamp duty to support the greenfield
data center
projects.
'If we have to look at this industry in total, the government should look into whether it can develop data center cities that have ample power. They have to consider the use of unclear power and renewable energy,' he said. 'If millions and billions of people start using ChatGPT and similar services, it will need 50 times more compute capacity for the same workload, which is happening today. So AI will continue to grow.'
A boom in AI, fifth-generation (5G) network densification, the Internet of Things (IoT), and
cloud computing
, along with surging computing demands in other sectors, has fuelled CtrlS, Sify Technologies,
ST Telemedia GDC
,
Yotta Data Services
,
Nxtra by Airtel
, ESDS, Equinix and others to set up data centers of various capacities.
'We cannot beat China and the US in terms of data center capacity and density, at least for the coming 10 years. But the number three position is very much doable for India,' as per the top executive, who added that the former two countries are extensively developing large language models (LLMs) that require data centers.
The Telangana-headquartered data center operator has 'super hyperscale' and hyperscale data centers in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Noida, Bengaluru, and Kolkata, and edge data centers in Ahmedabad, Patna, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar.
'This three-pronged strategy, in my view, will be the right model which will substantially add value across the country,' Jain said, adding that CtrlS' super hyperscale facilities can offer up to 500MW capacity when operationalised.
CtrlS has a total operational data center capacity of over 250MW IT load. In 2023, it laid out a plan to invest $2 billion over the next six years to add 350MW of AI and cloud-ready hyperscale data centers, double its headcount, and achieve net zero or carbon neutrality by 2030.
The executive, however, declined to comment on ongoing investments.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), had in 2020, released a draft data center policy, but it has yet to be formally notified. However, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Odisha, among others, have launched dedicated policies in recent years to attract substantial data center investments; they have offered various incentives covering power & energy, as well as infrastructure segments, through fiscal and non-fiscal measures.
Real estate consulting firm Colliers India earlier found that India's data center industry is expected to attract $20-25 billion in fresh investments in the next five to six years, with the total capacity expected to more than triple to over 4.5GW by 2030.
'India will see significant investments in data centers. At the same time, the number of data users is going to grow manyfold beyond tier-1 cities and towns. So if we have to cover the entire India, we will have to reach closer to the customers,' Jain said, observing that edge data centers – which typically cater to low-latency needs – will grow in numbers.
India's edge data centre capacity is expected to triple from 60-70 MW in 2024 to nearly 200-210 MW by 2027, led by established players such as RailTel and telecom companies to serve emerging technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT),
ratings agency ICRA said recently
.
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