Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation for the world’s data to “reside in India” marks a shift in the country’s economic focus, moving from being a major consumer of digital services to becoming the physical host of the global digital economy. In an interview with PTI, the Prime Minister described data centers as the “foundational layer” of the modern era. This pitch served as a strategic prelude to the Global AI Impact Summit, signaling that India is ready to anchor the world’s information within its borders, backed by unprecedented fiscal policy and infrastructure scaling.
Also read: Global AI commons: India’s most ambitious tech diplomacy pitch yet
India’s ambition to lead the AI revolution is being built on a massive expansion of its data center capacity, which is projected to surge to approximately 2 gigawatts (GW) by 2027. During his interview, the Prime Minister emphasized that while software often captures the imagination, the physical servers and cooling systems are the true engines of progress. This industrial push involves an estimated $90 billion investment pipeline already announced, with major hubs expanding in Navi Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad. By localizing data storage, India intends to bridge the gap between its high data consumption and its processing power, ensuring that the “raw material” of the AI age stays close to the chips that refine it.
Also read: India AI Impact Summit 2026: Why India’s global south AI Summit changes everything
Aggressive incentives in the Union Budget 2026–27 provide the commercial teeth to this invitation, specifically targeting global cloud giants. To encourage long-term residency, the government has introduced a tax holiday that extends until 2047, the centenary of India’s independence, for foreign companies providing global cloud services from Indian soil. This two-decade guarantee is paired with a new 15% Safe Harbour margin for related-party transactions, designed to eliminate the tax friction and transfer pricing disputes that often deter multinational investors. By offering a predictable, low-tax environment, India is positioning itself as a stable sanctuary for the capital-intensive assets of companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Leadership in the AI age requires more than just high-speed connectivity; it requires a seat at the global table of compute power and data sovereignty. The Prime Minister remarked that while India was a bystander in previous industrial revolutions, it refuses to be left behind in the data-driven shift. As world leaders like Emmanuel Macron and Lula da Silva gather at Bharat Mandapam for the summit, they are meeting a nation that has integrated its fiscal, digital, and energy policies into a single cohesive vision. By 2047, the goal is for India to be a “full-stack” AI leader, where the world’s data is not just stored, but where global intelligence is actively manufactured and governed.
The current strategy reflects a sophisticated understanding of the AI supply chain. By securing the “physical layer” – the land, power, and hardware – India is ensuring that it does not merely export talent, but imports the very infrastructure that will define 21st-century power. As the Prime Minister noted, the expansion of these data centers will create massive opportunities for India’s youth, transforming the “Yuva Shakti” into the architects of a global digital backend. This is not just an infrastructure play; it is a declaration that the road to a “Viksit Bharat” is paved with silicon and cooled by the innovations of a rising tech superpower.
Also read: India AI Impact Summit: 5 major announcements you shouldn’t miss
