Five times jump in data centre capacity expected to boost these companies on D-Street
To require facility capex of $30 billion and fuel 5 times jump in data centre leasing revenue to $8 billion by 2030
- Sep 16, 2025,
- Updated Sep 16, 2025 1:58 PM IST
Buoyed by surging data traffic, data localisation and rising use of artificial intelligence, the country’s data centre capacity looks to jump five times to 8 GW by 2030, according to Jefferies. The global brokerage firm believes that this will require facility capital expenditure of $30 billion and fuel 5 times jump in data centre leasing revenue to $8 billion by 2030.
In general, a data centre is a specialised computer system that combines high-power hardware and availability in a controlled environment for the purpose of storing, safeguarding, and processing data on a large scale.
With ‘buy’ ratings on Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries and Adani Enterprises, Jefferies believes that these companies may form 35-40% of India’s data centre capacity over the next five years.
“Construction, electrical or power equipment, and cooling system providers would also be beneficiaries,” it said in a report, adding that there are multiple drivers for the growth of data centres.
Jefferies added that the 30 times jump in data traffic since FY17, led by rising internet and smartphone adoption and growing use of OTT platforms, digital payments and e-commerce, has spurred data centre demand in India.
“Regulatory mandates like the DPDP Act, 2023, and RBI guidelines are promoting data localisation as well. We expect AI adoption to further boost demand, as AI servers require 5-6 times more power and liquid cooling vs non-AI servers. Currently, hyperscale CSPs (60%) and the banking sector (17%) are the primary clients of data centre operators,” the overseas firm said.
In India, 3 of the top 5 data centre operators (NTT GDC, STT, Airtel Nxtra) are telco-owned. Jefferies said Bharti Airtel’s strong presence (15% market share), healthy free cash flow (FCF) generation and existing enterprise client relationships position it well to gain from this opportunity.
Jefferies has set a target price of Rs 3,000 for Adani Enterprises based on EV/EBITDA basis (segment-wise, SOTP valuation) for individual businesses. On the other hand, it has fixed a target price of Rs 2,500 and Rs 1,670 for Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries, respectively.
Buoyed by surging data traffic, data localisation and rising use of artificial intelligence, the country’s data centre capacity looks to jump five times to 8 GW by 2030, according to Jefferies. The global brokerage firm believes that this will require facility capital expenditure of $30 billion and fuel 5 times jump in data centre leasing revenue to $8 billion by 2030.
In general, a data centre is a specialised computer system that combines high-power hardware and availability in a controlled environment for the purpose of storing, safeguarding, and processing data on a large scale.
With ‘buy’ ratings on Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries and Adani Enterprises, Jefferies believes that these companies may form 35-40% of India’s data centre capacity over the next five years.
“Construction, electrical or power equipment, and cooling system providers would also be beneficiaries,” it said in a report, adding that there are multiple drivers for the growth of data centres.
Jefferies added that the 30 times jump in data traffic since FY17, led by rising internet and smartphone adoption and growing use of OTT platforms, digital payments and e-commerce, has spurred data centre demand in India.
“Regulatory mandates like the DPDP Act, 2023, and RBI guidelines are promoting data localisation as well. We expect AI adoption to further boost demand, as AI servers require 5-6 times more power and liquid cooling vs non-AI servers. Currently, hyperscale CSPs (60%) and the banking sector (17%) are the primary clients of data centre operators,” the overseas firm said.
In India, 3 of the top 5 data centre operators (NTT GDC, STT, Airtel Nxtra) are telco-owned. Jefferies said Bharti Airtel’s strong presence (15% market share), healthy free cash flow (FCF) generation and existing enterprise client relationships position it well to gain from this opportunity.
Jefferies has set a target price of Rs 3,000 for Adani Enterprises based on EV/EBITDA basis (segment-wise, SOTP valuation) for individual businesses. On the other hand, it has fixed a target price of Rs 2,500 and Rs 1,670 for Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries, respectively.