Synopsis
Telangana is set to become a major data centre hub, with plans for eight to ten gigawatts of new capacity. The state administration is committed to providing reliable and clean energy. Lower construction costs compared to the US are attracting global hyperscalers. However, a skills gap in specialised areas needs addressing.Listen to this article in summarized format
Speaking to at the sidelines of ASSOCHAM 10th Smart Datacenters & Cloud Infrastructure Conclave 2026, Navin Mittal, Special Chief Secretary, Energy at the Government of Telangana, highlighted that the state administration remains fully prepared to handle this massive expansion.
"From the energy department, we are geared up to provide that requisite firm and reliable power for data centres to come, so we're encouraging....In the coming years, we are expecting almost eight to ten gigawatt of data centres interest in and around Hyderabad," Mittal said. "I must say that I've actually informed the audience that Telangana is committed to ensuring reliable, scalable, cost-effective and clean energy for whatever needs of the industry are, whether it is for a new industry coming and setting up their base in Telangana or the addition and augmentation of the existing industry, we are committed to that."
The Special Chief Secretary mentioned that the state relies heavily on its progressive Telangana Clean Green Energy Policy 2025 to incentivise investors, driving growth while simultaneously attempting to bring down long-term operational costs across the sector.
"We have a very progressive Telangana Clean Green Energy Policy 2025, where we are given a lot of incentives for both industry as well as manufacturing of energy equipment and energy solutions within Telangana and I think industry can make good use of it," Mittal added. "So I think more and more energy growth would not only help us to economically grow from the investment which is coming in, but would also help to bring down the cost of our legacy power, also."
This shifting focus matches a broader national trend. Priyesh Sankaran, Senior Systems Engineering Manager at Comscope, noted that while Mumbai and Chennai historically led the market, Hyderabad is quickly transforming into a major centre. Despite India contributing 20 per cent of global data traffic, it only houses 3 per cent of global data centres, pointing to a massive infrastructure rollout over the next five years.
"India probably is, I think, 30% cheaper to build a data centre than what you see in the US, as per what the statistics say," Sankaran said. "That's what makes us a very prime destination for data centres today. That's why a lot of the hyperscalers are building DRs in India, purely because of the cost of manufacturing and the labour and the quality of service that we get here."
Tarlok Singh, Data Centre Vertical & Solutions Head at Delta Electronics India, provided specific cost breakdowns verifying this regional advantage, noting that building a one-megawatt capacity in the United States costs almost 14 million dollars, whereas India achieves the same capacity at roughly half the cost.
"So globally it is said that, for one megawatt of capacity in the United States, it costs almost USD 14 million. So that way, it will become USD 14 billion for one gigawatt, whereas for India, we can have the same capacity at almost half the cost. That is around USD 7 million per megawatt or USD 7 billion per gigawatt."
However, Singh emphasised that the government must compel operators to use green energy sources and deploy battery systems, while also addressing a persistent skills deficit in specialised domains like mechanical engineering, plumbing, and cooling platforms.
"The industry has huge demand, but then there is a gap in demand and supply," Singh said. "So we have limited resources. If I talk about Delta, personally, I'm bringing some talent from outside India, because we are short of relevant talent in India."
