REITs & AI Boom: Can Data Centres And AI-Ready Offices Drive Future Real Estate Growth?

India’s commercial real estate landscape is changing as data centres, AI infrastructure and technology-enabled workspaces emerge as major growth areas. Sanchita Mukherji, Senior Business Economist & Market Observer, Managing Partner, Talk The Walk LLP, explains how investors can potentially gain exposure to this transformation through REITs. The discussion explores the rising demand from Global Capability Centres, banks, financial institutions, MNCs and data-centre operators, along with the growing need for AI-enabled campuses and infrastructure. It also highlights the importance of evaluating costs, returns, cash flows, rental yields and distributions before assessing the long-term potential of this emerging real estate opportunity.