Edge data centre capacity in India likely to triple by 2027, says ICRA
- IBEF
- July 25, 2025
India’s edge data centre capacity is poised to triple by 2027, rising from 60–70 Megawatts (MW) in 2024 to 200–210 MW, according to rating agency ICRA. This growth is being fuelled by the rapid adoption of emerging technologies, rising data consumption, and the need for real-time processing across sectors. Globally, edge data centres account for 10% of the 50 Gigawatts (GW) total data centre capacity as of December 2024, with the United States (US) leading at 44%, followed by Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region at 32% and the Asia Pacific at 24%. Edge data centres, unlike large, centralised traditional ones, are decentralised and positioned closer to end-users to enable faster, low-latency data processing. In India, edge centres currently account for only 5% of total data centre capacity, and just 1% if captive facilities are excluded, highlighting significant headroom for growth.
According to Vice President and Co-Group Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA, Ms. Anupama Reddy, traditional and edge data centres will operate in a hub-and-spoke model to meet the demands of sectors like healthcare, banking, manufacturing, agriculture, and defence. While traditional centres will handle mass-scale AI and cloud workloads, edge centres will support real-time, localised processing. However, challenges persist. These include higher deployment costs, security vulnerabilities, skill shortages in tier II and tier III cities, and interoperability concerns. Edge data centre rentals are also expected to be higher due to their focus on retail users. Leading players such as RailTel and major telecom operators are expected to spearhead this transformation, leveraging their infrastructure and network reach to scale India’s edge capacity.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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