ICRA reports that the capacity of edge data centers in India is expected to increase threefold by 2027.

India’s edge data centre capacity is set to increase threefold by 2027, growing from 60–70 Megawatts (MW) in 2024 to 200–210 MW, as per the rating agency ICRA. This expansion is driven by the swift embrace of new technologies, increasing data usage, and the demand for immediate processing across industries. Worldwide, edge data centers represent 10% of the total data center capacity of 50 Gigawatts (GW) as of December 2024, with the United States (US) at 44%, the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region at 32%, and the Asia Pacific at 24%. Edge data centres, in contrast to traditional large, centralized ones, are decentralized and located nearer to end-users to facilitate quicker, low-latency data processing. In India, edge centres represent merely 5% of total data centre capacity, and only 1% if captive facilities are omitted, indicating substantial potential for expansion. Ms. Anupama Reddy, Vice President and Co-Group Head of Corporate Ratings at ICRA, states that traditional and edge data centres will function in a hub-and-spoke framework to satisfy the needs of industries such as healthcare, banking, manufacturing, agriculture, and defence. Traditional centres will manage large-scale AI and cloud tasks, while edge centres will facilitate immediate, localized processing. Nevertheless, obstacles continue to exist. These encompass elevated deployment expenses, security risks, shortages of skills in tier II and tier III urban areas, and issues with interoperability. Rentals for edge data centres are anticipated to increase due to their emphasis on retail clients. Key players like RailTel and prominent telecom operators are anticipated to drive this change, utilizing their infrastructure and network capabilities to enhance India’s edge capacity.