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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Robust infra, surging demand, key reasons for boom

MMR A Data Centre Hub, Part – I Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is rapidly emerging as the epicentre of India’s data centre revolution, with a combination of strategic location advantages, robust infrastructure and surging demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing driving unprecedented investment into the region. As India’s data centre industry gears up to cross 3 gigawatts (GW) of operational capacity by 2028, according to CBRE’s 2026 Asia Pacific Data Centre...

Robust infra, surging demand, key reasons for boom

MMR A Data Centre Hub, Part – I Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is rapidly emerging as the epicentre of India’s data centre revolution, with a combination of strategic location advantages, robust infrastructure and surging demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing driving unprecedented investment into the region. As India’s data centre industry gears up to cross 3 gigawatts (GW) of operational capacity by 2028, according to CBRE’s 2026 Asia Pacific Data Centre Trends & Outlook report, MMR is expected to remain at the heart of this growth story. The region already accounts for the largest share of India’s operational data centre capacity and continues to attract a substantial portion of upcoming investments. Mumbai currently hosts more than 800 MW of operational data centre capacity, making it the country’s undisputed leader in digital infrastructure. Equally significant is the future pipeline, with another 750 MW under construction or in committed stages. Industry experts believe this momentum could transform the region into one of Asia’s most important digital infrastructure hubs over the next decade. The broader national backdrop supports this optimism. India’s total data centre stock stood at nearly 1,700 MW at the end of 2025, with CBRE estimating that an additional 500 MW of fresh supply will be added in 2026 alone. Driven by hyperscalers, cloud providers, global capability centres (GCCs) and AI-focused enterprises, the country has now been elevated from the “High Growth” category to the “Leading Markets” group in CBRE’s Asia-Pacific data centre rankings. “The combination of a low-bottleneck development environment, a rapidly expanding digital economy and aggressive hyperscaler commitments positions India as one of the most compelling DC markets globally,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE. “As AI workloads multiply and the demand base broadens beyond cloud to Neocloud, GCCs and enterprise users, we expect the country’s capacity trajectory to remain steep well beyond 2028,” he added. Unique Advantage Within India, however, MMR enjoys a unique competitive advantage. The region combines access to international submarine cable landing stations, extensive fibre connectivity, proximity to the country’s largest financial ecosystem and a deep enterprise customer base. These factors have made it the preferred destination for hyperscale operators seeking scalable, low-latency infrastructure. According to Kamlesh Thakur, President, NAREDCO Maharashtra, MMR possesses a rare combination of factors that continue to attract large-scale investments. “Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) possesses a unique combination of advantages that make it India's most preferred data centre destination. The region is home to the country's largest financial ecosystem, has access to international submarine cable landing stations, a strong fibre network, a large enterprise customer base and proximity to major cloud and digital service providers,” he said. Thakur added that proactive government policies, dedicated incentives, reliable power infrastructure and rising AI and cloud demand are further accelerating investments into the region. “MMR is increasingly emerging not just as India's financial capital but also as its digital infrastructure capital,” he noted. The growth is particularly concentrated along the Navi Mumbai–Thane corridor, which has evolved into the country's most active data centre cluster. Locations such as Navi Mumbai, Thane, Airoli, Ghansoli, Rabale, Mahape and Taloja are witnessing strong traction due to the availability of large land parcels, power infrastructure and high-capacity fibre networks.

Knives out in legislature

Updated: Mar 21, 2025

Disha Salian

Mumbai: Death of celebrity manager Disha Salian in 2020 once again rocked the Maharashtra legislature on Thursday. While cabinet ministers Nitesh Rane and Shambhuraj Desai demanded that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray be arrested in the case, BJP MLA Amit Satam in the assembly and another BJP member Chitra Wagh in the council demanded that the report of SIT to probe Salian’s death be made public.


Incidentally, amidst repeated disruptions in both the houses, some members from the treasury benches were seen speaking in favour of Aditya Thackeray, while Shiv Sena (UBT) members like Adv Anil Parab were seen supporting the BJP members’ demand that the report of the SIT probe be made public. In addition, there were allegations and counter allegations and personal accusations among members from the treasury and opposition benches which led to heated debate on occasions.


The opposition termed the attempts from the treasury benches to link Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s name in the case, as a ‘conspiracy’.


“I think this matter has gone to the court. We have no idea what he (Disha’s father) has said, but Aaditya Thackeray is a mature leader, a young leader. The Bharatiya Janata Party is conspiring to defame him by putting pressure on him. We don’t need to answer to this conspiracy. The court will answer,” Ambadas Danve said.


Earlier in the day, when the house gathered for the business, Minister of State for Home appraised the assembly of the status in this case. “SIT has been formed to probe in the case. Their report has not been received as yet. However, the government shall act according to directives from the court,” the minister told the house.


Another BJP minister Nitesh Rane, however, said that since Satish Salian has levelled allegations against an MVA minister, that leader be treated like a common person and that everybody should be treated equally before the law. Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai too supported the demand. “Since the allegations are grave, the person in question should be immediately arrested and the case be investigated,” he said.


Later, while speaking to media in the legislature premises, Rane asked Uddhav Thackeray to come clean on the issue. “If they say that we are politicizing the issue, Uddhav Thackeray should also tell the people why he had called, not just once but twice, to the then union minister Narayan Rane urging him to save his son?” Rane said.


He also accused the opposition of shying away from coming clean on the issue. “If they feel that we are not telling the truth, they should say so in the house. But they are shying away from doing so. Bhaskar Jadhav, who is always aggressive, was nowhere to be seen when this issue came up in the house. Sunil Prabhu too escaped the house under the pretext of a phone call. I challenge them to say that whatever I said on the issue is wrong,” Rane said.


He also said that Aditya Thackeray should resign on moral grounds till his name is cleared in the case.


BJP MLA Amit Satam demanded that the details of the SIT probe be made public so that the people would know if the probe is headed in right direction.


Interestingly, while the ruling parties were targeting the opposition in the case, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar surprised all with his unexpected support to Thackerays. “I do not have any evidences in the case. But if her father has made any fresh allegations that needs to be investigated thoroughly. The assembly can discuss the issue at length tomorrow. In the meanwhile, members like Rane, who seem to have some evidences in the case should hand them over to the investigating agencies and help the probe,” he told the house.


Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Gaikwad and Sheetal Mhatre too toed the line and demanded that more and more evidences should come forth.


Similarly, when members of treasury benches were pushing for revealing the details of the probe till date to the public, Shiv Sena (UBT) member Anil Parab supported the demand. “Doing that shall conclusively prove the innocence of Aditya Thackeray,” he said.

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