Bengaluru, November 14: India’s conglomerate Reliance Industries has announced plans to establish a 1 gigawatt artificial-intelligence data centre in the state of Andhra Pradesh, signalling the company’s push into large-scale digital infrastructure amid booming AI demand.
According to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who announced the project on Friday, the investment will complement the group’s existing data-centre campus in Gujarat and position the state as a key node in India’s technology ecosystem. He did not provide detailed financials and Reliance declined immediate comment.
Global tech firms are racing to establish AI infrastructure, and India has emerged as a critical growth market with nearly a billion internet users. For example, Google LLC recently committed US$ 15 billion in Andhra Pradesh to build its largest data centre campus in the country.
The new complex in Andhra will be designed to operate at gigawatt-scale, supplying the computing power needed for AI model training, cloud services and hyperscale workloads. The move marks a deepening of India’s ambition to anchor AI and digital infrastructure domestically rather than relying solely on foreign campuses.
Reliance already controls diverse businesses — from telecom operator Jio Platforms and retail chains to energy and media. The data-centre push extends its footprint into the AI infrastructure space, where global demand is intensifying.
Why It Matters
- Strategic play: By anchoring a high-capacity data-centre hub in Andhra Pradesh, India strengthens its AI infrastructure ecosystem and attracts global tech investment.
- State-level leverage: The project elevates Andhra’s position as an industrial and technology hub, potentially generating jobs and boosting regional development.
- Tech sovereignty: Expanding domestic AI capacity helps reduce reliance on external data-hosting and cloud footprints, aligning with national digital-strategy objectives.
- Competitive dynamics: As rivals like Microsoft and Amazon scale up in India, Reliance’s move ensures it remains a key player in the cloud-AI arms race.
Outlook & Risks
The scale of a 1 gigawatt data centre implies significant capital expenditure, timelines and regulatory coordination. Execution risks include land acquisition, power-supply stability (preferably green energy sourcing) and attracting global workloads. Implementation will be closely watched by investors and tech analysts.
