Will Microsoft set up Rs. 15k-cr data centre in TS?

India's data center industry is expected to add 560 MW during 2021-23. Various policies and reforms brought in by the government with an aim to turning India into a global data hub have provided necessary measures to achieve this

-Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research, JLL

Hyderabad: AMERICAN software giant Microsoft Corporation is likely to invest Rs 15,000 crore for setting up a data centre in Hyderabad. As per the reports, the company is negotiating a deal with Telangana government to acquire a land parcel for its facility near the metro city.

Information technology (IT) space in Telangana has been witnessing major investments. Microsoft is establishing its data centre in Hyderabad, and it may publicly announce the details of the new project very soon. However, Microsoft India spokesperson did not comment on this.

A couple of years ago, Microsoft had partnered with Reliance Jio to start Jio-Azure Cloud Data centres in Jamnagar (Gujarat) and Nagpur (Maharashtra). Both these data centres have been operationalised with 10 MW capacity and Jio is now planning to expand the data centre capacity.

The partnership with Jio facilitates the growth of SMEs and startups by providing cloud-based network technology and collaboration tools available with Microsoft. Other multi-national companies like Amazon and Google are also planning to invest in the country's data centre sector.

Brookfield Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Canada's Brookfield, has recently partnered with NYSE-listed Digital Realty to set up a joint venture to develop data centres in India under the brand name BAM Digital Realty. The JV aims at rapid digital transformation by deploying critical infrastructure. Hyderabad is emerging as new hotspot for data center industry. Real estate market in the city is gaining momentum in this space, said Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research, JLL and Real Estate Intelligence Services (REIS) India. He adds, "India's data center industry is expected to add 560 MW during 2021-23. Various policies and reforms brought in by the government with an aim to turning India into a global data hub have provided necessary measures to achieve this."