India to Add 6.5 GW AI Data Center Capacity by 2031

India's AI infrastructure buildout accelerates

India is poised for a dramatic expansion in artificial intelligence data center capacity, with approximately 6.5 gigawatts expected to come online over the next five years, according to Brookfield Asset Management.

Arpit Agrawal, managing partner and head of India and the Middle East for Brookfield's infrastructure group, shared the projection in remarks reported by Reuters. The forecast reflects growing demand for AI inference—the process by which trained AI models generate answers, content, or predictions—across India's technology sector.

The scale of the anticipated growth becomes clear when measured against current infrastructure. India currently operates roughly 1.5 gigawatts of installed data center capacity, nearly all dedicated to traditional computing workloads rather than AI applications. Brookfield expects conventional data center capacity to double to approximately 3 gigawatts, with the 6.5 gigawatt figure representing additional AI-specific infrastructure across India's broader market.

Brookfield's stake in India's digital infrastructure

The New York-based global alternative asset manager has direct exposure to India's data center expansion through its Digital Connexion venture, a partnership with U.S.-listed Digital Realty and Reliance Industries. That joint venture currently controls about 160 megawatts of data center capacity in India, with 60 megawatts operational and fully leased. The remaining capacity is under construction, Agrawal said.

Brookfield's broader India portfolio spans more than $32 billion in assets across multiple strategies. The firm announced in May 2025 an ambition to more than triple that figure to over $100 billion within five years, signaling sustained confidence in India's infrastructure investment opportunities.

Separately, Nawal Saini, managing partner in Brookfield's Energy Group, said the firm's India energy platforms expect to add 4 to 4.5 gigawatts of renewable capacity this year, underscoring the parallel expansion of power generation needed to support data center growth.

Why it matters

The projected AI data center expansion positions India as a significant player in global AI infrastructure, not just consumption. As hyperscalers and AI companies seek geographic diversification and cost-effective compute resources, India's combination of technical talent, improving power infrastructure, and government support for digital economy initiatives makes it an increasingly attractive destination. The scale of investment required—likely tens of billions of dollars—will reshape India's technology landscape and create substantial demand for power generation, cooling systems, and network connectivity.

Source attribution

These details were first reported by Reuters in a dispatch from Singapore.