Anant Raj Ltd., a real estate developer based in Delhi, plans to invest 180 billion rupees (US$2.1 billion) in data centers.

The company aims to increase its capacity to over 300 megawatts by 2032, according to managing director Amit Sarin.

Currently, Anant Raj operates one data center and intends to launch two more in Haryana, northern India.

The funding for this project will come from the company’s internal resources.

According to property consultant JLL, India’s data center capacity is expected to grow by 77% to reach 1.8 gigawatts by 2025.

Anant Raj is not alone in this investment trend. Other Indian companies are also expanding in the sector.

Major firms, such as Adani Group and Reliance Industries Ltd., have announced large-scale data center projects. Smaller companies like RMZ Corp. and Panchshil Realty are also entering the market.

.source-ref{font-size:0.85em;color:#666;display:block;margin-top:1em;}a.ask-tia-citation-link:hover{color:#11628d !important;background:#e9f6f5 !important;border-color:#11628d !important;text-decoration:none !important;}@media only screen and (min-width:768px){a.ask-tia-citation-link{font-size:11px !important;}}

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ India’s data localization policies driving unprecedented data center expansion

The rapid growth in India’s data center market reflects a massive untapped opportunity in local data storage.

Despite generating 28% of the world’s data, India currently houses only 1% of it locally, creating a significant imbalance that companies are rushing to address.

This gap explains why major conglomerates are making multi-billion dollar investments, with Gautam Adani planning ₹700 billion ($8.4 billion) for data parks over two decades to attract global tech giants like Amazon and Google1.

The government’s push for data localization and privacy regulations is a primary catalyst, requiring companies to store sensitive data within India’s borders2.

This regulatory environment, combined with digital transformation across industries, is expected to drive India’s data center market from $1 billion in 2018 to $1.5 billion by 2022, representing an 11.4% compound annual growth rate2.

Banking and financial services currently dominate the demand, accounting for 45.8% of server market revenue, indicating the sector’s critical data sovereignty requirements3.

2️⃣ Strategic diversification as real estate developers pivot to digital infrastructure

Anant Raj’s ambitious projection that data centers will grow from 5% to over 40% of its revenue within four years signals a significant business model transformation for traditional real estate developers.

This strategic pivot isn’t isolated. Other property developers like RMZ Corp ($1.7 billion investment) and Panchshil Realty (partnering with Blackstone) are following similar strategies to capitalize on digital infrastructure demand.

The transition reflects a broader industry recognition that data centers offer more stable returns than traditional commercial real estate, particularly as digital workloads grow exponentially.

Major cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai have become prime locations for these investments, with infrastructure readiness and connectivity driving site selection2.

Companies are also differentiating their offerings, as seen in Anant Raj’s partnership with France’s Orange Business for cloud services and Adani’s development of “green data center parks” in Andhra Pradesh.

The projected US$7.1 billion expenditure on cloud infrastructure in India over the next three years further validates this strategic shift toward digital-focused real estate development3.

……