The Indian Data Economy: Positioning for Global Leadership
India is poised to become a significant player in the global data economy. With the world’s second-largest internet population, exceeding 700 million users and projected to reach 924 million by 2025, the potential of the Indian data economy is undeniable.
Rapid Data Consumption Growth
The Nokia Mobile Broadband India Traffic Index 2021 highlights a 36% surge in data usage during 2020. This growth is driven by increased smartphone adoption and fixed wireless access. Currently, Indian mobile internet users consume an average of 8.3 GB of data monthly, demonstrating robust demand.
Strategic Political Investment
This surge is underpinned by a deliberate political strategy focused on digitalization. Prime Minister Modi’s Five ‘I’s policy, particularly ‘Innovation’ and ‘Infrastructure,’ is a key driver of the data center market’s expansion.
Policy Framework for Data Center Hub Development
The Draft Data Centre Policy aims to establish India as a global data center hub. To achieve this, the policy grants the data center industry infrastructure status, aligning it with national objectives. Furthermore, anticipated data sovereignty laws will mandate domestic data storage and processing, further stimulating demand.
Industry and Regulatory Perspectives
Shri P. D. Vaghela, Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), recently emphasized in The Policy Times: “The country needs to transform from consumer to producer of technology [and with] rising data demand, the role of data centres attains equal importance towards becoming self-reliant in the digital space.”
NASSCOM, in a recent report, reinforces this perspective. They suggest that India, with its increasingly digitalized economy and a substantial pool of engineering talent, is well-positioned to attract a larger share of global data center investments.
