Microsoft opens new data centre in Hyderabad as part of its $20.5 billion AI plan for India

Microsoft has announced its India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad under its $20.5 billion India investment plan. The company said the facility will expand AI capacity, support compliance needs and act as a hub for Asia and the Global South.Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India and South Asia at the Microsoft AI Infrastructure SummitMicrosoft on Monday announced the launch of India South Central, its new cloud region in Hyderabad. The new data centre is part of the company’s previously announced US$20.5 billion investment in India’s cloud and AI future. Announced at the Microsoft AI Infrastructure Summit in New Delhi, India, South Central is Microsoft’s fourth cloud region in India, after Pune, Chennai and Mumbai.Microsoft said India South Central will serve as a strategic hub for Asia and the Global South, with infrastructure designed to support advanced AI workloads. The company added that all its data centre regions in India are now AI-enabled, using AI-capable hardware, high-efficiency cooling systems and infrastructure built to support AI workloads at scale.“India South Central is our fourth cloud region in the country, built for advanced AI workloads and a strategic hub for Asia and the Global South. It is where our $20.5 billion investment becomes operational infrastructure, with leading Indian enterprises already running on it,” said Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India and South Asia.The Hyderabad region is already operational and provides a range of Azure cloud services and is built to handle advanced AI workloads. Microsoft says the centre has three separate zones, with independent power, cooling and networking, helping keep services running even if one zone faces an issue. The region will also get new Azure and AI services as Microsoft rolls them out, including Microsoft Foundry. According to Microsoft, companies including Adani Group, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and PB Pay have already signed up to use the new region.Microsoft says the expansion comes as demand for AI infrastructure grows rapidly in India. During the announcement, Chandok highlighted that India generates around 20 per cent of the world's data but has only about 3 per cent of global datacentre capacity. With new infrastructure such as the Hyderabad region coming online, the company expects India's total datacentre capacity to grow from around 2GW currently to 12-14GW by 2035. But Microsoft's India AI push is not limited to infrastructure. The company said more than 10 million Indians have now been equipped with AI skills through Microsoft Elevate India, towards its goal of skilling 20 million people by 2030. Microsoft said the new region follows MeitY guidelines and is designed to help customers address requirements linked to India's DPDP framework, RBI and CERT-In. The company also said the facility uses effectively zero water for cooling, helping reduce its reliance on water for datacentre operations.The company is also part of a planned 3,600-km India-Southeast Asia submarine cable system connecting India, Malaysia and Singapore. The cable is expected to have landings at Machilipatnam and South Chennai, with service targeted for 2029.- EndsPublished By: Divya BhatiPublished On: Sep 21, 2026 13:54 IST