India's growing artificial intelligence ambitions will require far more than increased computing capacity, with industry leaders calling for stronger investments in power infrastructure, advanced cooling systems and sustainable data centre development to support the country's next phase of digital growth.
These themes dominated discussions at the AI-Powered Data Centre Conference 2026, held in Mumbai and organised by ASAPP Info Global Group in collaboration with the FIRST Construction Council. The conference brought together developers, technology providers, enterprise users, consultants and policymakers to discuss how India can strengthen its AI infrastructure and position itself as a global hub for AI-ready data centres.
The event focused on the theme, "From Capacity Gap to AI Superpower: Building India's Digital Backbone for the Intelligence Economy," highlighting the increasing importance of compute infrastructure as enterprises accelerate AI adoption across industries.
Opening the conference, Pratap Padode, Founder and Managing Director of ASAPP Info Global Group, said India's operational data centre capacity has expanded significantly, growing from around 375 MW in 2020 to nearly 1.8 GW today. He also pointed to projections from the Ministry of Power, which estimate that electricity demand from data centres could reach 13.56 GW by 2031-32, underscoring the need for coordinated infrastructure planning.
Speakers agreed that AI infrastructure extends well beyond server deployment. Discussions centred on ensuring reliable power availability, advanced cooling technologies, battery energy storage systems, water management, sustainability and regulatory readiness as AI workloads become increasingly compute intensive. Participants noted that building AI-ready facilities will require closer collaboration between infrastructure developers, utilities, technology companies and policymakers.
Shrinivas R. Deshingkar, Founder and Chairman of Shree Tech Data, said industry collaboration would be critical in identifying operational challenges and developing practical solutions that support long-term infrastructure growth. Other participants emphasised that execution quality, operational reliability and sustainability would become key differentiators as India competes for global AI investments.
Rahul Sharma, a data centre industry expert, described the coming decade as a defining period for India's data centre ecosystem, while Jagat Ram, Head of Data Centre Operation and Delivery at Larsen & Toubro, highlighted the importance of investing in captive power generation, battery energy storage and modern cooling systems to build globally competitive AI facilities.
The discussions come at a time when India's data centre industry is witnessing rapid expansion, driven by growing enterprise AI adoption, cloud computing and digital transformation initiatives. However, industry reports indicate that challenges including land acquisition, power availability and execution complexity continue to influence the pace of development.
Recent policy discussions have also reflected the increasing importance of AI infrastructure. The Ministry of Power is working with stakeholders to assess grid readiness and long-term electricity requirements as data centre demand accelerates, while several states are introducing incentives around power access, green energy and infrastructure to attract hyperscale AI investments.
Industry estimates suggest India's data centre ecosystem could evolve into a major global growth opportunity over the next decade, supported by rising AI workloads, digital public infrastructure and enterprise cloud adoption. Experts at the conference said achieving that vision will depend on balancing rapid capacity expansion with resilient infrastructure, energy efficiency and sustainable development practices.
The conference concluded with discussions on investment models, enterprise demand and India's long-term AI infrastructure strategy through 2030. Participants expressed optimism that with coordinated planning across government and industry, the country can strengthen its position as a global destination for AI-ready digital infrastructure.