- Nvidia supports building data centres by Indian companies in India
- Data centre construction employs electricians, plumbers, and construction workers
- The supply chain includes design, concrete, architecture, and management roles
After the government announced an unprecedented 20-year tax holiday for data centres-an incentive touted to attract $200 billion in investments, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said that artifical intelligence could generate employment in India at par with the job growth seen during the early days of internet expansion in the country.
Speaking at the 3DExperience World event in Houston, Huang argued that large data centre projects could spark substantial economic activity across construction and supply chains. The Budget 2026 proposal grants foreign companies tax exemptions until 2047 if they provide global cloud services via Indian data centres, a move critics say disproportionately favours international tech giants.
ALSO READ: 'Illogical': Nvidia's Huang Dismisses Fears That AI Will Replace Software Tools Amid IT Selloff
"The actual building of the data center is maybe 5,000 people, 10,000 people," Huang said, citing electricians, plumbers and other construction workers. "But don't forget, the derivative workforce, the labor that contributes to ultimately delivering that data center, is quite gigantic," Huang told Outlook Business.
"Think about the entire supply chain, pipes, concrete, design, architecture, project management, and then, once the data center is operational, the ongoing operations and the startup companies that are built on top of it," he added.
He urged policymakers to assess infrastructure projects through both upstream and downstream employment. But his remarks sidestepped the reality that data centres, once built, typically require relatively lean staffing compared to the scale of government subsidies they receive.
Positioning AI as the next phase of "industrialisation," Huang said it will soon be as essential as electricity or water. Yet his framing also raises questions about whether this "essential infrastructure" will remain accessible and beneficial to the wider public-or primarily to corporations with the resources to build and control it. Earlier today, Huang dismissed fears that artificial intelligence will replace software and related tools, calling the idea "illogical", after a significant selloff in global software stocks.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
