PM Modi invites the “whole world’s data” to India, promising massive jobs and AI growth. With record data centre expansion, tax incentives, and Google’s $15B AI hub, can India become the global epicentre for AI and cloud services?
PM Modi's remarks come ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday invited the “whole world’s data to reside in India,” highlighting the country’s growing data centre capacity and its potential as a major job creator for the youth. His remarks come ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled from February 16 to 20 in New Delhi, where PM Modi will inaugurate the India AI Impact Expo 2026.
PM Modi said expanding computing power and data centre infrastructure will lay the foundation for a thriving AI ecosystem in India. “Data centres will be a massive job creator for our youth. We invite the whole world’s data to reside in India,” he told media.
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By the end of 2025, India’s data centre capacity reached 1.5 GW across seven major cities and is projected to cross 1.7 GW by the end of 2026. Enhanced AI and cloud services powered by domestic data are expected to support India’s goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy.
In Union Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a tax holiday for companies providing cloud services via Indian data centres until 2047. She also proposed a safe harbour of 15% on costs for related entities serving Indian customers through local resellers.
Global tech firms are already investing heavily. Google, for instance, plans a $15 billion AI data centre campus in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, its largest AI hub outside the US, combining AI infrastructure with large-scale energy and fibre-optic networks.
Budget 2026 also included investment in critical infrastructure, such as dedicated rare earth corridors in mineral-rich states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, to promote mining, processing, research, and manufacturing of rare earth permanent magnets.
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Industry experts say the combination of tax incentives, supportive policies, and investment from global technology leaders positions India as a key player in cloud computing and AI, strengthening its role in the global technology ecosystem.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is expected to showcase these initiatives, bringing together policymakers, investors, and tech executives to explore the future of AI in India.
