Anant Raj To Invest $2 Billion On India Data Center Boom

Anant Raj Ltd. plans to spend 180 billion rupees ($2.1 billion) on data centers as it joins a growing list of Indian companies looking to ride the boom in demand for artificial intelligence and business process-led services in the country.

The Delhi-based developer with a market value of $2.3 billion will launch two more data centers or server farms in the northern Indian state of Haryana. This is in addition to the one already operational, as it aims for a capacity of little over 300 megawatts by 2032, Amit Sarin, managing director at Anant Raj said.

For context, India's data center capacity is poised to grow by 77% to 1.8 gigawatts in the next four years, according to a 2025 report by property consultant JLL.

“India is witnessing one of the fastest growth phases globally for data centers,” said Sarin in an interview, adding that the project will be funded through the company's own funds.

Anant Raj's move follows ambitious plans by India's top business houses Adani Group and Reliance Industries Ltd. to expand their footprint. The trend is underscored by Barclays Plc's view that the South Asian nation will be a big beneficiary of the data center investment boom in Asia, driven by digitalization and rules requiring data to be stored within the country.

Smaller firms are not far behind. Bengaluru-based RMZ Corp. is spending $1.7 billion on two data centers and Panchshil Realty is considering partnering with Blackstone Inc. to build a large data center in Mumbai.

Data centers are expected to make up more than 40% of Anant Raj's revenues in the next four years from 5% at present, Sarin said. The company tied up with the French IT company Orange Business to provide cloud services to its clients along with data centers last year.

“India currently generates 28% of the world's data but houses only 1% of it locally, presenting a significant opportunity for expansion as data localization becomes inevitable,” Sarin said.