Data centre with over five megawatt capacity gets infra status

NEW DELHI: Data centres with more than 5 megawatt capacity of IT load have been accorded infrastructure status, according to the recent notification. The move is likely to help data centre companies to get easier access to institutional credit at lower rates, attract foreign investments, etc. 

“Data centre is included in the Harmonized Master List of Infrastructure sub-sectors by insertion of a new item in the category of ‘Communication’,” reads the notification. According to the notification, data centres housed in a dedicated/centralised building for storage and processing of digital data applications with a minimum capacity of 5 MW of IT load will be considered eligible for infrastructure status. The capacity of data centres is measured in terms of the power they consume which reflects on the scale of the server they are hosting in their facilities.

In her budget speech for 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made an announcement that data centres will be granted infrastructure status. Indian corporates like Hiranandani Group, Adani Group, and foreign investors including Amazon, EdgeConnex, Microsoft, CapitaLand, Mantra Group have started investing in Indian data centres. Along with them, existing players like CtrlS, Nxtra, STT India are also expanding their capacities.