New Delhi, May 25 -- India's artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions are taking the shape of a digital warehouse boom. While semiconductor chips, models, and computing platforms capture most of the value globally, domestic capital is chasing the lower-risk, lower-value layer of data centres.

But experts doubt that this boom can solve India's deeper challenge of building high-value technology capabilities and creating enough quality jobs to compete with global peers.

There are 208 data centre projects in the pipeline, with planned investments of Rs.12.3 trillion, according to data from the economic think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). More than 60% of this investment, or about Rs.7.6 trillion, was announced in FY26 alon...