India needs reliable, scalable AI infrastructure: NITI Aayog

New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) With artificial intelligence (AI) adoption surging across sectors, the need for reliable, scalable and sustainable AI infrastructure in India has never been more urgent, NITI Aayog said on Thursday.

Recognising the critical role of AI infrastructure in shaping India’s economic future, the NITI Aayog 'Frontier Tech Hub' hosted a high-level workshop here, focused on accelerating investments in AI-ready datacentres across Indian states.

“India has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become a global AI datacentre hub. With our clean energy leadership, unmatched tech talent, and strong policy momentum, we are well-positioned to deliver the world’s greenest and most cost-effective AI compute,” said B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Aayog.

“But the competition is global. States must stop thinking only in terms of land and start thinking in terms of AI ecosystems — anchored in energy, innovation, and execution,” he added.

The workshop brought together senior officials from key state governments, central ministries and industry leaders to chart a strategic roadmap for positioning India as a global hub for AI infrastructure.

The deliberations spotlighted the widening gap between India’s digital ambitions and its current compute capabilities.

Although India generates nearly 20 per cent of the world’s data, it accounts for just 3 per cent of global datacentre capacity.

With AI adoption surging across sectors, the need for reliable, scalable, and sustainable AI infrastructure has never been more urgent.

The workshop urged states to move beyond land- and real estate-centric models and embrace a new paradigm anchored in access to clean energy, high-performance computing, and streamlined policy environments.

Key themes included the projected doubling of global electricity demand from datacentres and AI by 2026; India’s unique advantages in renewable energy, deep engineering talent, and rapidly growing digital economy; the need for coordinated reforms in power, policy, and regulation to attract hyperscale and sovereign AI investments.

Participants discussed the six critical pillars essential for AI datacentre readiness — land, power, network, compute, talent, and enabling policies.

The conversation highlighted the urgency for states to think not just competitively within India, but globally, as countries like Vietnam, UAE, and Indonesia aggressively pursue AI investments.

--IANS

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