Latest news with #NarendraSen
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
India's first AI-centric SEZ to come up in CG at a cost of 1000 crore
Raipur: In a landmark development, India's first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-centric Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will be established in Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Designed exclusively for the advancement and operations of AI and computer data technologies, the govt expects it to catapult the region into the national and global spotlight as a leading digital and technological hub. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The project will be spearheaded by a private limited data company with an estimated investment of Rs 1000 crore. Spanning approximately over six acres, the SEZ will feature a state-of-the-art data center of 1.5 lakh square feet, which will be equipped with high-performance computing systems and servers capable of powering advanced AI requirements, officials said. Four high-density data centers are planned to support digital infrastructures across multiple states. CM Vishnu Deo Sai lauded the project as a 'new beginning for the state', highlighting its potential to generate employment for the youth and to establish the state as a technological force on the national stage. He emphasized that the AI SEZ aligns seamlessly with the visions of Digital India and Make in India. "This initiative is a strategic leap that positions India not just as a consumer of AI services, but as a self-reliant producer and host," said Narendra Sen, CEO of RackBank Data Centers Pvt Ltd, at the event, announcing the project. He added that the data center will create jobs for IT engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity professionals, and network managers. The company plans to collaborate with ITIs, engineering, and polytechnic colleges of the state to launch specialized training programs, preparing students for future roles in the AI industry. The ambitious plan of this SEZ envisions that global giants like Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta may host their AI services from this center. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now For the first time, India will not merely consume these services but also offer a domestic base for their operations, marking a new jump of the state in future technologies. The state govt thinks that beyond its technical significance, the project promises wide-ranging socio-economic impact. Students from remote and tribal regions will have national and international level opportunities right in the state, officials added. Raipur: In a landmark development, India's first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-centric Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will be established in Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Designed exclusively for the advancement and operations of AI and computer data technologies, the govt expects it to catapult the region into the national and global spotlight as a leading digital and technological hub. The project will be spearheaded by a private limited data company with an estimated investment of Rs 1000 crore. Spanning approximately over six acres, the SEZ will feature a state-of-the-art data center of 1.5 lakh square feet, which will be equipped with high-performance computing systems and servers capable of powering advanced AI requirements, officials said. Four high-density data centers are planned to support digital infrastructures across multiple states. CM Vishnu Deo Sai lauded the project as a 'new beginning for the state', highlighting its potential to generate employment for the youth and to establish the state as a technological force on the national stage. He emphasized that the AI SEZ aligns seamlessly with the visions of Digital India and Make in India. "This initiative is a strategic leap that positions India not just as a consumer of AI services, but as a self-reliant producer and host," said Narendra Sen, CEO of RackBank Data Centers Pvt Ltd, at the event, announcing the project. He added that the data center will create jobs for IT engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity professionals, and network managers. The company plans to collaborate with ITIs, engineering, and polytechnic colleges of the state to launch specialized training programs, preparing students for future roles in the AI industry. The ambitious plan of this SEZ envisions that global giants like Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta may host their AI services from this center. For the first time, India will not merely consume these services but also offer a domestic base for their operations, marking a new jump of the state in future technologies. The state govt thinks that beyond its technical significance, the project promises wide-ranging socio-economic impact. Students from remote and tribal regions will have national and international level opportunities right in the state, officials added.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
India's first AI-focused SEZ to come up in Chhattisgarh
India's first AI SEZ in Chhattisgarh RackBank to invest Rs 1000 crores Raipur: In a landmark development, India's first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-centric Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will be established in Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Designed exclusively for the advancement and operations of AI and computer data technologies, the government expects it to catapult the region into the national and global spotlight as a leading digital and technological hub. The project will be spearheaded by a private limited data company with an estimated investment of Rs 1000 crore. Spanning approximately over six acres, the SEZ will feature a state-of-the-art 1.5 lakh square feet data center, equipped with high-performance computing systems and servers capable of powering advanced AI requirements. Four high-density data centers are planned to support digital infrastructures across multiple states. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai lauded the project as a 'new beginning for the state', highlighting its potential to generate employment for the youth and establish the state as a technological force on the national stage. He emphasized that the AI SEZ aligns seamlessly with the visions of Digital India and Make in India. 'This initiative is a strategic leap that positions India not just as a consumer of AI services, but as a self-reliant producer and host,' said Narendra Sen, CEO of RackBank Data Centers Pvt Ltd, at the event announcing it. He added that the data center will create jobs for IT engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity professionals, and network managers. The company plans to collaborate with ITIs, engineering, and polytechnic colleges of the state to launch specialized training programs, preparing students for future roles in the AI industry. The ambitious plan of this SEZ thinks that Global giants like Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta may host their AI services from this center. For the first time, India will not merely consume these services but also offer a domestic base for their operations, marking a new jump of the state in future technologies. The state government thinks that beyond its technical significance, the project promises wide-ranging socio-economic impact. Students from remote and tribal regions will have national and international level opportunities right in the state. The plan projects that in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, across language, education, health, and agriculture, this SEZ represents a bold step toward positioning Chhattisgarh inside India and outside, at the forefront of the digital revolution.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
India's data centre push inland is a template for Global South
Photo/Agencies Narendra Sen has a humble origin story. His family comes from a village near Indore. They moved to the city in 1997 and everyone had to work, so Sen started a cyber-cafe. He slowly expanded into hosting servers. Today, the founder of Indore-based data centre company RackBank presides over a 10-megawatt facility on the outskirts of Madhya Pradesh's capital, with two more data centres under construction – one of them in Raipur. He's also secured land for a fourth site. Sen did not chase Mumbai's eastern seaboard or Chennai's coastlines – both popular because they are landing sites for submarine cables that are the backbone of our global internet. Instead he chased land prices. 'In Indore we paid roughly 30 lakh an acre,' Sen notes. 'A similar plot in Mumbai is nudging 30 crore. If you buy expensive, you have to sell expensive. India's startups cannot afford that.' Cheap land is only the first link in Sen's affordability crusade. Because power is the single largest operating cost for a data centre provider, RackBank negotiated a state subsidy that cuts its tariff to around 6 per kilowatt-hour – less than half the prevailing rate in Mumbai. 'We reckon we can run 40% cheaper than a tier-one data centre yet meet the same Uptime Tier IV standards (the highest level of data centre reliability),' he insists. 'That is what will democratise compute for colleges, fintechs and AI developers who simply cannot pay Western hyperscale prices.' The economics matter because India is racing into an era in which every AI chatbot, logistics algorithm and streaming platform is underpinned by specialised silicon – and that silicon is ravenous. While a conventional rack might draw 10 kW, Sen's next Indore data centre is being designed for 80-200 kW per rack, cooled by direct-tochip liquid loops and full-immersion baths built in-house. 'General-purpose centres are yesterday's technology,' he says. 'Accelerated computing needs different architecture, and it can be done just as safely in central India as on the coast. AI can live anywhere if the power and cooling are right.' A NATIONAL RETHINK Sen's philosophy – put capacity where land and electrons are plentiful rather than where submarine cables land – is rapidly becoming industry orthodoxy. Vipul Kumar , vice-president for edge and network at CtrlS Datacentres, says the momentum is unmistakable. 'We have already established edge data-centre facilities in Patna and Lucknow and are expanding into Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Bhopal, Jaipur and Nagpur,' he says. For Kumar, the logic is strategic as well as economic. Decentralising data-centres, he says, is vital for India's digital future. 'Our facilities in these emerging cities are purpose-built to deliver low latency, comply with data-localisation requirements and offer cost-effective solutions,' he says. Ashish Arora, chief executive of Airtel-owned Nxtra, says that with the growing demand from OTT platforms and content delivery network providers for low-latency and high-performance content delivery, edge data-centre networks have become crucial. The company today has over 120 edge facilities across over 65 cities, complemented by 14 hyperscale data centres, to ensure seamless streaming experiences even in smaller towns. Fintech platform Infibeam Avenues is staking its future on a constellation of small facilities. Chairman Vishal Mehta says they are planning a network of 1to 2-megawatt data centres in at least ten cities, each costing 20-50 crore. The decentralised model, he says, spreads risk, supports low-latency AI workloads and can break even within 24 months. Mehta adds that the shift inland is already reshaping corporate real estate. 'Global capability centres (GCCs), once concentrated in major metros, are increasingly looking at tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The availability of advanced digital infrastructure, combined with cost savings and talent pools, is turning places such as Gandhinagar, Kochi and Jaipur into innovation hubs,' he says. ECONOMICS OF THE HEARTLAND As we said earlier, the economics of the heartland is compelling. Land in Vidarbha or Bundelkhand costs a fraction of Mumbai's asking price; power is cheaper and, crucially, more abundant. Latency is another driver. A widely used rule of thumb equates one millisecond of round-trip delay to roughly 100 miles of fibre. A server farm in Indore sits almost equidistant from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad – meaning half the population can be reached in under 10 ms. 'For a streaming service or a payment gateway that is good enough,' Sen says. The final catalyst is AI. Training a large language model can devour more electricity than a thousand Indian homes use in a year and demands carefully choreographed GPUs. 'AI is already a different war,' Sen says. 'America leads, China follows, and India must create its own sovereign compute layer if we want to stay in the game.' RackBank plans to deploy Nvidia's forthcoming Blackwell chips within six months and market a sovereign 'supercloud' to Indian developers. CtrlS is integrating renewableenergy hybrids; Nxtra is piloting fuel-cells; Infibeam's pods are designed for phased GPU upgrades as demand grows. Collectively these experiments could become templates for fastgrowing regions from Africa to Latin America. 'If compute stays expensive, only big corporates innovate,' Sen argues. 'Put affordable GPUs in tier-two cities and a college kid can fine-tune a healthcare model on local data. That is how you discover the UPI or Aadhaar of the AI era.' And this, he argues, applies to many countries around the world. DEALING WITH POWER RELIABILITY None of the pioneers underestimate the obstacles. Reliable grid power, fibre backhaul and skilled technicians are perennial headaches. 'Power infrastructure reliability remains a primary concern in many locations,' Kumar admits, noting the need for hefty investments in redundancy. Mehta flags the same issue: 'Many tier-2 regions still lack the grid stability and renewable integration needed to support large-scale data-centre operations.' Yet, technical ingenuity is helping to close the credibility gap. RackBank's pre-engineered, single-storey sheds can be assembled in six months – onethird the time a vertical citycentre tower might take – and its patented immersion tanks can slash cooling power by 60%. CtrlS and Nxtra are pursuing similar modular playbooks; Infibeam distributes its IT load across multiple micro-grids to avoid single points of failure. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
India Gazette
4 days ago
- Business
- India Gazette
India's first AI SEZ in Chhattisgarh RackBank to invest Rs 1000 crores
Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 27 (ANI): India's first AI-centric Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is being established in Nava Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. This will be a dedicated area specially designed for the development and operation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and computer data-related technologies. The zone will host state-of-the-art computer systems and servers that will run AI systems capable of human-like reasoning, making it a hub for major global companies to carry out their digital operations, the Chief Minister's office said. The government has granted tax exemptions and other legal relaxations to accelerate the development of new technologies here. For the first time in India, such a zone completely focused on AI is being created, positioning Nava Raipur as the country's next digital and technological hub. This project is considered a major leap toward making India a global leader in technology. In Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India's first AI-based 'RackBank Data Center SEZ' will be developed. This Special Economic Zone will be entirely dedicated to computers, the internet, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The project is being developed by RackBank Datacenters Pvt. Ltd., with an investment of approximately Rs 1000 crores. The SEZ will spread over around 6 acres and will feature a modern 1.5 lakh square feet data center equipped with cutting-edge technology. There are future plans to build four high-density data centers with a combined capacity of 80 megawatts, capable of supporting digital networks across multiple states. This initiative will elevate Chhattisgarh's position on the national technology map. Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai described it as a new beginning for a new Chhattisgarh and said the investment would generate new employment opportunities for youth and bring technological recognition to the state. Moreover, this initiative will further the visions of Digital India and Make in India. RackBank CEO Narendra Sen stated that the goal is to make India self-reliant in AI. The data center will offer jobs such as IT engineers, data specialists, cybersecurity officers, network managers, and many more. The company will collaborate with Chhattisgarh's ITI, engineering, and polytechnic institutes to run training programs that prepare students for the industry. In today's world, AI is not limited to computers alone. It influences our language, thinking, education, health, and even agriculture. The data center being built in Raipur will be the home of these services. Major companies like Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta will run their AI services here. For the first time, India will not only be a consumer but also a self-reliant producer and host of these services. The most remarkable aspect of this project is that its impact will not be limited to technological advancements. It will reach villages and small towns. Students from districts such as Kanker, Sukma, Bilaspur, and Dantewada will be able to live in Raipur and work with global companies. They will no longer have to move to Bangalore or abroad. The data center will be built following green building certification standards, incorporating solar energy, water conservation, and energy-efficient equipment. (ANI)
India Gazette
06-05-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Chhattisgarh's first AI Datacentre Park inaugurated by CM Vishnu Deo Sai
Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 6 (ANI): Technology services provider RackBank has launched its new AI Datacentre Park in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Spread across 13.5 acres, the new AI Datacentre Park has been built on an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore, which is scalable to Rs 3,000 crore in 5 years, as per a statement from the company. The new AI Datacentre Park, which is the first data centre campus in Chhattisgarh, was inaugurated by Chief Minister, Vishnu Deo Sai in the presence of Lakhan Lal Dewangan, Honourable Minister, Commerce and Industries, and OP Choudhary, Minister, Finance, Housing and Environment. Spread across 13.5 acres, the new AI Datacentre Park has been built on an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore which is scalable to Rs 3,000 crore in 5 years, the company statement noted. The state-of-the-art facility, capable of housing 100,000 GPUs and 80MW power, is designed to meet the growing demand for advanced Al workloads and will serve as the foundation for the nation's digital transformation. Speaking on the initiative, Narendra Sen, Founder and CEO of RackBank, said, 'I am proud to be on this landmark journey to set up Chhattisgarh's first purpose-built AI-focused Datacentre Park to meet India's growing AI computing needs. RackBank strongly supports Shri Narendra Modi's IndiaAI Mission, which envisions empowering India to lead the global AI revolution and our new world class AI Datacentre Park at Raipur will help develop cutting-edge infrastructure and innovation to accelerate digital transformation and fuel nation building.' 'The new facility will provide greater cost efficiencies to businesses by scaling and leveraging India's GPU compute capacity to meet India's AI needs. The campus will serve as a hub for collaboration between academia, industry, and government, fostering an ecosystem of innovation and technological advancement by helping business harness the true power of AI. It will empower businesses, researchers, developers, Global R&D centers and innovators to harness the full potential of AI while ensuring the highest standards of security, sustainability, and efficiency. As we move forward, we are committed to supporting the rapid growth of AI and helping shape a smarter, more connected future,' Narendra Sen added. The construction of the new AI Datacentre Park will be completed in 4 phases with initial capacity of 80 MW in Phase 1 which will be scalable to 160 MW in Phase 4. The park will be built using advanced liquid cooling technology - Direct-to-chip and Varuna liquid immersion cooling system - RackBank's in-house developed and patented technology which optimizes power usage and enhances energy efficiency. This system reduces cooling costs by up to 70 per cent, it claimed. Speaking at the inauguration of RackBank's new AI Datacentre Park, Vishnu Deo Sai, Chief of Minister of Chhattisgarh, said, 'Chhattisgarh is rapidly emerging as the next big IT hub of India. Today marks a significant milestone in Chhattisgarh's journey towards digital transformation.' 'The launch of RackBank's cutting-edge AI Datacentre Park marks a major step in our journey towards a digital and knowledge-driven economy. Backed by our progressive industrial policy, this project will boost innovation, attract investments, create quality jobs, and strengthen our digital infrastructure. Chhattisgarh is proud to lead from the front in building the future of technology and AI in India,' the chief minister said. The RackBank AI Datacenter Park will put Raipur on India's digital innovation map opening growth avenues in Healthcare, Education, Agri tech and more across Chhattisgarh. The strategic central location offers unparalleled advantages, including low latency across India, making it an ideal hub for AI and cloud services nationwide. An additional 2.70 hectares has been earmarked at the Chhattisgarh SEZ to deliver high-quality, cost-effective services. The new AI Datacentre Park is expected to create variety of job opportunities with plans to employ 200 people in 5 years with potential to scale up to 500 people. 'The inauguration of this state-of-the-art AI Datacentre Park marks a significant milestone in Chhattisgarh's journey to becoming a global leader in digital infrastructure. This facility not only strengthens our position as the backbone of India's data economy but also exemplifies our commitment to sustainable growth through green technology. With strategic locations in Raipur, we are poised to meet the growing demand for data storage and processing, creating thousands of high-skilled jobs and attracting substantial investments to the state,' added Rajat Kumar, Secretary, Commerce and Industries, Government of Chhattisgarh RackBank is India's leading provider of Datacenter infrastructure, cloud computing, and AI services. (ANI)
