Data Centres Policy 2016

Scaling IT/ITES
Announced: July 1, 2016
Launched: July 1, 2016

Progress Overview

Progress: 90%
Proposed
Approved
Launched
Scaling
Mature
Archived

Metrics Dashboard

Hyperscaler Investments Attracted

4 major investors

AWS Data Centre Investment

$ 4.4 Bn

Microsoft Data Centre Investment

$ 2 Bn

Essential Service Designation

1 policy status

Milestones

Data Centres Policy Released

Completed

Data Centres Policy released as part of the ICT Policy 2016 sectoral policy suite, designating data centres as essential services.

Completed: July 1, 2016

Essential Service Designation

Completed

Data centres formally designated as essential services under state law, guaranteeing uninterrupted power supply and dual power grid connectivity.

Completed: December 31, 2016

Hyperscaler Investment Wave

Completed

AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud announced major Hyderabad data centre investments, validating the essential service model and policy incentives.

Completed: December 31, 2023

AWS $4.4B & Microsoft $2B Investments

Completed

AWS announced a $4.4 billion investment and Microsoft announced a $2 billion investment in Hyderabad data centre infrastructure.

Completed: December 31, 2024

CtrlS AI Data Centre MoU

Completed

CtrlS signed an MoU for a $1.15 billion AI data centre cluster in Hyderabad, one of the largest such commitments in India.

Completed: January 1, 2025

Yotta 25,000 GPU AI Supercomputer MoU

In Progress

Yotta signed an MoU to establish a 25,000 GPU AI supercomputer facility in Hyderabad, advancing the state's AI infrastructure ambitions.

Target: December 31, 2026

Description & Context

The Data Centres Policy 2016 positioned Hyderabad as India's preferred data centre and disaster recovery hub by granting data centres essential service status—guaranteeing priority power allocation, exemptions from outages, and government-funded security within a dedicated Data Centres Campus. Hyderabad's seismic stability (Zone-II) and pre-approved building and power permissions under TS-iPASS reduce regulatory friction to a minimum. Power tariffs are set by the Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC). The policy has catalysed hyperscaler investment at scale: AWS ($4.4 billion), Microsoft ($2 billion), CtrlS ($1.15 billion AI data centre cluster MoU, January 2025), and Yotta's 25,000 GPU AI supercomputer MoU (2025) establish Hyderabad as a leading destination for AI infrastructure investment.