India’s data centre market is experiencing significant growth, driven by the emergence of new edge and modular facilities, increased capacity plans, and discussions on establishing a new cable landing station. NES Data, headquartered in Pune, has commenced offering edge and containerised data centres aimed at enhancing data access throughout India, particularly in smaller cities and rural areas. Umesh Sahay, the founder and managing director of NES, believes that these innovative data centres will democratize access to information, providing low-latency and highly efficient solutions for the country’s increasingly AI-focused digital ecosystem. NES Data plans to escalate its total capacity in India to over 100MW within three years.
Currently, they operate a 5MW data centre in Pune. The company’s objective is to streamline data centre construction and management processes using automation and digital tools to lower costs and bolster efficiency. In another development, construction has commenced on a new data centre in Ghaziabad, located northeast of New Delhi. When finished, this facility will provide 30MW of capacity, operated by ESDS, with power sourced from Central Electronics Limited, a state-owned solar energy provider.
A timeline for the project has yet to be disclosed. Currently, ESDS manages four data centres throughout India, occupying a collective space of 60,000 square feet across Punjab, two sites in Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. Furthermore, Gujarat is in discussions regarding its first cable landing station (CLS). Several companies, including Reliance Industries, are involved in these talks, especially concerning proposals for installations in the Saurashtra region and South Gujarat.
The state’s IT/ITES policy for 2022-2027 offers incentives for CLS development, including assistance with land acquisition, infrastructure, capital costs, and electricity subsidies lasting up to five years.