The Indian data centre market has witnessed a remarkable growth in the last three years, driven by the increasing demand for digital services, cloud adoption and data protection regulations. According to a report by JLL India, the industry size doubled from 350 MW in 2019 to 722 MW by 2022, and is expected to reach 1318 MW by 2024.

Another report by Arizton Advisory & Intelligence states that India is an emerging nation in the data centre market and is predicted to reach $10.09 billion by 2027. The report identifies about 79 unique data centre facilities and 23 upcoming facilities in India. The Digital India initiative by the Indian government is expected to attract more investments in data centres.

Some of the key factors that are fueling the growth of the data centre market in India are:

1. The government's initiatives to promote digital transformation and innovation, such as the Digital India program, the National Digital Communications Policy, and the National Data Centre Policy. These policies aim to create a robust digital infrastructure, enhance data security and sovereignty, and foster a conducive environment for data centre development and investment.
2. The rising adoption of cloud services by enterprises, small and medium businesses (SMBs), and consumers. India is the second-largest cloud services market in Asia-Pacific, after China, with a projected revenue of $7.1 billion in 2022. The cloud services market is dominated by global hyperscale cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Alibaba Cloud, who have established multiple data centres across the country.
3. The growing demand for colocation and managed services by local and international customers. Colocation and managed services providers offer cost-effective and scalable solutions for data centre operations, maintenance, and security. Some of the leading colocation and managed services providers in India are NTT Global Data Centres (formerly Netmagic), CtrlS Datacentres, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC), Sify Technologies, and Yotta Infrastructure.
4. The increasing investment in data centre construction and expansion by domestic and foreign players. India has witnessed several large-scale data centre projects in recent years, especially in major cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Delhi-NCR. Some of the notable data centre projects in India are:
   1. The Adani Group's plan to invest $10 billion over the next 20 years to build 10 hyperscale data centres across India, with a total capacity of 200 MW.
   2. The Hiranandani Group's subsidiary Yotta Infrastructure's plan to build five hyperscale data centres in Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi-NCR, with a total capacity of 200 MW.
   3. The Reliance Jio Infocomm's plan to build four hyperscale data centres in Mumbai and Chennai, with a total capacity of 240 MW.
   4. The NTT Global Data Centres' plan to invest $2 billion over the next four years to expand its data centre footprint in India to 1 GW.
   5. The STT GDC's plan to invest $1 billion over the next two years to add 15 new data centres in India, with a total capacity of 400 MW.

India's data centre market is also influenced by the regional trends and developments in the Asia-Pacific region. According to Arizton Advisory & Intelligence, the data centre market in Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8% during 2021-2026, reaching $28 billion by 2026. The region is home to some of the largest and most advanced data centre markets in the world, such as China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong. The region is also witnessing the emergence of new data centre markets, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

The data centre market in India offers significant opportunities for investors, developers, operators, service providers, and customers. However, the market also faces some challenges and risks that need to be addressed. Some of these are:

1. The lack of adequate power supply and grid stability in some parts of the country. Power outages and fluctuations can affect the performance and availability of data centres. Therefore, data centre operators need to ensure backup power sources and efficient power management systems.
2. The high cost of land acquisition and construction in urban areas. Land availability and affordability are major constraints for data centre development in India. Therefore, data centre operators need to explore alternative locations and models, such as edge computing, modular data centres, and greenfield projects.
3. The regulatory uncertainty and compliance requirements for data protection and privacy. India does not have a comprehensive data protection law yet, although a draft bill is under consideration by the parliament. The absence of a clear legal framework can create ambiguity and confusion for data centre operators and customers regarding their rights and obligations.
4. The cybersecurity threats and attacks on data centres and networks. Data centres are vulnerable to various types of cyberattacks, such as ransomware, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), phishing, malware, etc. Therefore, data centre operators need to implement robust security measures and practices to safeguard their assets and customers' data.

In conclusion, India is an emerging nation in the data centre market with immense potential for growth and innovation. The market is driven by various factors, such as the government's support, the cloud adoption, the colocation and managed services demand, and the data centre investment. The market is also influenced by the regional trends and developments in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the market also faces some challenges and risks that need to be addressed. Therefore, data centre operators need to adopt a strategic and holistic approach to succeed in the Indian data centre market.

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