India is strengthening its domestic cloud computing ecosystem to support digital governance, data security and emerging technologies, as rising internet usage and growing demand for digital services drive investment in computing infrastructure.
According to government data, India’s internet subscriber base reached 1,092.79 million in March 2026, while average wireless data consumption rose to 25.51 GB per subscriber per month. Total wireless data usage stood at 285,376 petabytes during the financial year 2025–26.
The rapid expansion of digital payments, online public services and artificial intelligence applications has increased the need for secure, scalable and reliable infrastructure to store and process information.
Cloud computing allows organisations to access storage, servers, software and processing capabilities over the internet without maintaining extensive physical infrastructure. The development of domestic cloud services is also expected to strengthen data sovereignty and improve control over sensitive information.
As of September 2026, India had empanelled 30 cloud service providers, including Jio Platforms, Tata Consultancy Services, BSNL, ITI, RailTel, AdaniConneX and Yotta Data Services. International providers such as Google Cloud, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services were also part of the ecosystem.
A major component of India’s cloud infrastructure is MeghRaj, the government’s National Cloud Computing Initiative, launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in 2014.
Its upgraded version, MeghRaj 2.0, provides cloud-based infrastructure and services to government departments. By September 2026, the initiative had expanded to 2,330 government departments, supporting digital platforms including DigiLocker, MyGov, the National Scholarship Portal and the Department of Posts’ Advanced Postal Technology system.
India’s data centre sector has also witnessed significant expansion. As of August 2026, the country’s data centre capacity stood at 1.57 gigawatts (GW) and was projected to reach nearly 8 GW by 2030.
Major data centre hubs include Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Jamnagar, while Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal are emerging as additional locations.
The sector has attracted approximately USD 70 billion in investments underway, alongside another USD 90 billion in announced projects aimed at expanding domestic computing capacity.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) operates four National Data Centres and 24 Mini Data Centres, providing cloud services and shared digital infrastructure to government departments.
Meanwhile, the IndiaAI Mission, approved with an outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore, is expanding access to artificial intelligence computing resources.
More than 45,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have been onboarded under a common AI computing facility to provide affordable computing power to startups, researchers and academic institutions.
India is also investing in workforce development to support its expanding cloud ecosystem.
Under the FutureSkills PRIME programme, launched by MeitY and NASSCOM in 2021, approximately 34 lakh candidates had registered by August 2026, with more than 23 lakh enrolled or trained.
The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) operates 56 centres, 750 affiliated institutes and more than 9,000 facilitation centres offering training in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and other emerging technologies.
A 2026 report by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation estimated that India had 2.25 million cloud-native developers, with 44 per cent using hybrid cloud environments.
In a significant development, the Digital India BHASHINI platform migrated to an Indian cloud operated by Yotta Data Services in February 2026.
According to MeitY, the transition helped keep language datasets, AI models and citizen interactions within India’s jurisdiction while delivering performance improvements of up to 40 per cent, cost savings of 20–30 per cent and 99.99 per cent uptime.
The government has also introduced policy measures to promote secure cloud adoption. In March 2026, MeitY issued a Cloud Selection Framework to guide ministries and departments in choosing cloud infrastructure based on data sensitivity, security requirements and operational needs.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, provides a regulatory framework for personal data processing, including consent requirements, accountability of data fiduciaries and conditions governing cross-border data transfers.
Cloud computing is also among the emerging technologies highlighted at the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC-2026), being held from October 27 to 29 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
With India’s cloud data capacity projected to expand four to five times by 2030, continued investment in data centres, digital infrastructure and workforce development is expected to play a key role in supporting the country’s digital transformation.
-PIB
