The government of the Indian state of Maharashtra has approved the establishment of what are called Green Integrated Data Centre Parks, aiming for an investment of around US$20 billion.
It claims this will make Maharashtra the first state in India to introduce a special policy for Green Integrated Data Centre Parks, a project that plans to build several data centre parks in and around the state capital Mumbai, totalling 1.5GW of IT capacity.
Reports suggest that three data centre facilities are planned, each with a capacity of 500MW. The state government has mandated that the project use 100% green energy for core data centre activities.
The state government points out that growing use of artificial intelligence (AI), and demand for data storage and processing are leading to increased energy consumption by data centres. Its statement adds: “In light of India’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2070, green technology has become crucial for the future.” Hence the state’s plans to promote eco-friendly practices in the sector.
The Data Centre Dynamics website suggests that the value of the Indian data centre market is expected to reach US$13.96 billion by 2029, over double its 2023 value of US$6.9 billion.
Maharashtra believes its initiative will not only strengthen the state’s data infrastructure, but also generate direct and indirect taxes, 500 directly relevant high-skilled jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs.
The government has made amendments to its Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) Policy, 2023, which will now allow special incentives, alongside regular benefits, for setting up the three Green Integrated Data Centre Parks.
