Overview
India's data center capacity rose from about 375 MW in 2020 to roughly 1,575 MW in 2026, and listed companies earn from it in different ways.
Operators such as Airtel, Reliance and TCS earn recurring income, while builders and cooling firms such as L&T and Blue Star earn when projects are delivered.
Orders do not always lift profit, and a coming data center policy could change approvals, costs and investment pace.
India's data center capacity has grown more than fourfold in six years. Government figures show a rise from about 375 MW in 2020 to roughly 1,575 MW in 2026. Investors now want to know which listed companies earn from it.
Every data center needs land, electricity, and cooling before a single server turns on. The money reaches operators, builders, and cooling specialists, each with a different risk.
Direct Operators: Recurring Income From Capacity
Bharti Airtel runs its data center arm, Nxtra. In March 2026, Nxtra announced a USD 1 billion funding round. Alpha Wave Global, Carlyle, and Anchorage Capital will put in USD 710 million.
Airtel will add the remaining USD 290 million. The deal values Nxtra at about USD 3.1 billion after closing. Regulators must still approve it. Airtel keeps control. Nxtra also helps build Google's Visakhapatnam AI hub with AdaniConneX. The hub sits within Google's USD 15 billion India plan. That money is Google's, not Nxtra's.
Reliance Industries is building at a gigawatt scale in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Work has begun. Morgan Stanley estimated in late 2025 that Reliance could spend USD 12 billion to USD 15 billion on AI infrastructure there. The estimate assumes Reliance would use a quarter of the capacity and lease the rest. It is an analyst view, not a Reliance commitment.
Andhra Pradesh adds a complication. In November 2025, Reliance signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state for a 1 GW AI data center. Later that month, Digital Connexion announced a USD 11 billion plan for a 1 GW campus in Visakhapatnam.
Digital Connexion is a joint venture of Reliance, Brookfield, and Digital Realty. Public reports do not say whether the two announcements cover one project or two. Reliance is only one of three partners. The USD 11 billion is not Reliance's alone. An MoU is also an early step, not a finished build.
TCS entered through HyperVault, which has secured 264 acres in Hyderabad for a campus of up to 1 GW. HyperVault and its partners expect to invest up to Rs. 70,000 crore. Construction will follow customer demand in phases. Both the 1 GW and Rs. 70,000 crore figures are full build-out ceilings, not what exists today.
Builders and Cooling: Project Revenue, Not Rent
Builders and equipment suppliers mostly earn when a project is built.
Larsen & Toubro was named among the contractors on 310 MW of Hyderabad projects. Its record Rs. 7.79 lakh crore order book covers all its sectors. It does not measure data center work alone.
Cooling matters more as chips run hotter. Blue Star earned roughly Rs. 1,000 crore from data center mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) work in FY26.
On its August 2026 earnings call, management guided to Rs. 1,350 crore to Rs. 1,400 crore of data center MEP revenue for FY27. It aims for about Rs. 4,000 crore by FY29, close to 20 percent of total revenue.
Management also says Blue Star holds about 30 percent of data center MEP projects. Its share of data center chillers is only 10 to 12 percent. The two are separate markets. Both estimates date from the June 2026 quarter.
Voltas is earlier in the journey. PL Research said in a September 2026 note that Voltas has created a dedicated data center vertical. The note says it has secured about Rs. 200 crore of orders. That is a small base next to its core air-conditioning business.
Revenue Growth Is Not Shareholder Returns
Blue Star shows the gap. Its data center orders reached about Rs. 1,500 crore in April to June 2026. Even so, its operating margin fell to 5.2 percent from 6.7 percent. Pre-tax profit before exceptional items dropped about 24 percent.
The data center business did not cause the fall. Brokerage commentary points to the air-conditioning products business. Management chose to defend market share while commodity and currency costs rose. It could not pass those costs on to customers.
PL Research cut its target price and downgraded the stock. Motilal Oswal puts it near 54 times expected FY27 earnings. Gigawatt campuses follow the same pattern. They add revenue potential, yet they need heavy capital before they earn a return.
What Could Go Wrong, and a Policy to Watch
Three questions help test any of these stories. Are announced projects turning into signed contracts and construction? Can companies finish them without cost overruns eating into profit? Does the share price already assume years of fast growth?
On October 14, 2026, junior IT minister Jitin Prasada said the government is preparing a dedicated data center policy. It aims to keep rising data center power demand from raising consumers' electricity bills. He gave no details and no timeline.
The announcement followed protests by residents in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. They objected to planned Amazon and Google projects over water, electricity, and noise. Final rules could change approvals, costs, and the pace of new investment.
Also Read: Google’s USD 15 Billion India Data Center: Why Water, Wildlife Concerns are Growing
What This Means Going Forward
India's data center expansion offers openings for operators, builders, and cooling firms. Returns will depend on execution, demand, and the price investors pay for growth. The next signals to watch are the policy details and how many MoUs turn into construction.
Also Read: Data Center Careers to Look for in India: Jobs Beyond Software and IT Roles
Final Thought
The next phase of India's AI build-out may depend less on who announces the biggest campus. It may rest more on who secures steady power and water at a fair price. Policy, local acceptance, and grid access will set the pace. Companies that plan for those limits early will be better placed when the rules arrive.
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FAQs
1. How fast has India's data center capacity grown?
Government figures show capacity rose from about 375 MW in 2020 to roughly 1,575 MW in 2026. That is more than a fourfold increase in six years.
2. How do operators, builders and cooling firms earn differently?
Operators such as Bharti Airtel's Nxtra earn recurring income from the capacity they run and lease. Builders such as Larsen & Toubro and cooling firms such as Blue Star mostly earn when a project is built. Each model carries a different risk.
3. Do more data center orders mean higher profit for Blue Star?
Not always. Blue Star won about Rs. 1,500 crore of data center orders in April to June 2026, yet its operating margin fell to 5.2 percent from 6.7 percent. Brokerage commentary links the fall to the air-conditioning products business, where costs rose and could not be passed on to customers.
4. Are Reliance's Andhra Pradesh MoU and the Digital Connexion campus the same project?
Public reports do not say. Reliance signed an MoU for a 1 GW AI data center in November 2025. Later that month, Digital Connexion announced an $11 billion plan for a 1 GW campus in Visakhapatnam. Reliance is one of three partners in that venture, so the $11 billion is not Reliance's alone.
5. What is the planned data center policy, and why does it matter?
On October 14, 2026, junior IT minister Jitin Prasada said the government is preparing a dedicated policy. Its aim is to keep rising data center power demand from raising consumers' electricity bills. No details or timeline have been given. The final rules could change approvals, costs and the pace of new investment.