New Delhi, Oct. 16 -- India generates about 20% of the world's digital data but is home to only 3% of its data-centre capacity. At the same time, India's policy aim is to have all sensitive data generated on Indian entities stored within the country-exclusively or not is a different debate.

Just to store what we currently generate, our local capacity would need to multiply quickly. Apart from ever greater aspects of our existence going digital, we also have the voracious data appetite of artificial intelligence (AI) to contend with. In all, we can expect demand for facilities that store and process data to go up exponentially.

It is in this context that US-based Google raised its 2025 capex outlay to $85 billion, as reported, and plans ...