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Ratings for the physical buildout of AI

Jurisdiction Index / India

India

Tier 3 · Contested
Stable
Rank #22 of 30
Data confidence A
54.9 /100

JCI composite · as of · methodology v0

India scores 54.9/100 on the Compute Institute Jurisdiction Competitiveness Index (Tier 3, Contested), ranking #22 of 30 rated jurisdictions with a stable outlook, as of June 15, 2026 under methodology v0. Its strongest dimension is Capital & Ecosystem Depth at 6.1/10; its weakest is Power Availability & Deliverability at 4.9/10. 22 of 22 sub-factors are scored on E1–E2 evidence (data confidence A).

Dimension breakdown

Seven dimensions, each 0–10, weighted per methodology v0. JCI = Σ(dimension × weight) × 10.

Power Availability & Deliverability

4.9 /10 weight 20%

Power Cost

5.1 /10 weight 12.5%

Speed to Build

5.7 /10 weight 17.5%

Regulatory & AI Policy Environment

5.2 /10 weight 12.5%

Fiscal & Incentives

5.9 /10 weight 10%

Capital & Ecosystem Depth

6.1 /10 weight 12.5%

Stability & Execution Risk

6 /10 weight 15%

Sub-factor scores and sources

Every base-scored input below carries E1–E2 evidence: a justification, an evidence-level grade, and a link to the underlying source document.

Power Availability & Deliverability — 4.9/10 (weight 20%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Grid headroom 40% of dimension 4.5 /10 Record capacity additions but demand growing ~7%/yr with periodic peak deficits; transmission to DC clusters requires dedicated corridors (National Electricity Plan build-out underway). as of
E1
Central Electricity Authority — load and capacity data cea.nic.in
Time-to-power 35% of dimension 5 /10 State-dependent: dedicated feeders for DCs in Mumbai/Hyderabad/Noida delivered in ~2-3 yrs under state DC policies; weaker states far slower. as of
E2
IEEFA — India's data centre sector at a crossroads ieefa.org
Energy mix & expandability 15% of dimension 6.5 /10 World's largest RE auction pipeline plus coal/gas additions; captive and group-captive generation and open access are legal routes for large loads. as of
E1
Ministry of Power — open access and captive rules (Electricity Act 2003) powermin.gov.in
Water availability 10% of dimension 3.5 /10 High-to-extreme baseline stress in key DC metros (Mumbai, Chennai, NCR, Hyderabad) per WRI Aqueduct; Chennai's 2019 'day zero' is precedent. as of
E1
WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas www.wri.org

Power Cost — 5.1/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Industrial electricity price 60% of dimension 5 /10 Industrial tariffs ~INR 7-9/kWh (~USD 85-110/MWh) including cross-subsidy surcharges; open-access RE can land ~USD 50-60/MWh before charges. as of
E1
CEEW — data centre power and water use in India www.ceew.in
Price trajectory & exposure 25% of dimension 5 /10 Cross-subsidy surcharges and state discom finances make industrial tariff trajectories unpredictable; falling RE costs offset. as of
E1
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission tariff orders cercind.gov.in
Cost certainty / contractability 15% of dimension 5.5 /10 Long-term (25-yr) PPAs standard for generation and available to large consumers via open access, but INR-denominated with surcharge/regulatory reopening risk. as of
E1
SECI PPA framework www.seci.co.in

Speed to Build — 5.7/10 (weight 17.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Permitting regime 40% of dimension 4.5 /10 Infrastructure status (2022) and state single-window schemes help, but multi-agency clearances (environment, fire, aviation height, discom) still add 12-18 months. as of
E1
Ministry of Finance — harmonised infrastructure list including data centres dea.gov.in
Observed construction velocity 35% of dimension 6 /10 Yotta NM1 and AdaniConneX builds delivered large halls in ~2 yrs; AI-scale (>=100 MW IT) campuses under construction but unproven. as of
E2
Yotta/AdaniConneX sponsor disclosures www.adaniconnex.com
Labor & supply capacity 25% of dimension 7 /10 Deep construction labor pool and growing domestic EPC/equipment base (BHEL transformers); skilled MEP trades tight in metro clusters. as of
E2
UN Comtrade — transformer imports (HS 8504), Argentina comtradeplus.un.org

Regulatory & AI Policy Environment — 5.2/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
AI-specific law in force 35% of dimension 5 /10 No AI statute; DPDP Act 2023 enacted with rules notified 2025; MeitY advisories create soft obligations — permissive but shifting. as of
E1
MeitY — Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 www.meity.gov.in
DC-specific regulation 35% of dimension 5.5 /10 No moratoria; 15+ supportive state DC policies in force; sectoral data-localization (RBI payments directive) compels in-country build but constrains architecture. as of
E1
RBI directive on storage of payment system data www.rbi.org.in
Regulatory predictability 30% of dimension 5 /10 WGI Regulatory Quality ~50th percentile; improving ease-of-doing-business but documented regulatory reopenings at state level. as of
E1
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators www.worldbank.org

Fiscal & Incentives — 5.9/10 (weight 10%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Enacted incentives 40% of dimension 6.5 /10 Infrastructure status (E1), state incentives in force (UP/Maharashtra/Telangana capital and power subsidies, E1), and Union Budget 2026 long-term DC tax holiday (E2, flagged pending Finance Act effect). as of
E2
IEEFA — India's data centre sector at a crossroads ieefa.org
Headline tax burden 40% of dimension 5.5 /10 Effective CIT ~25.2% for domestic companies; GST on equipment creditable; no Pillar Two top-up yet enacted. as of
E1
OECD Corporate Tax Statistics — United States www.oecd.org
Incentive durability 20% of dimension 5.5 /10 Retroactive-tax era (Vodafone/Cairn) formally repealed in 2021 — improving record, but state incentive payment delays are documented. as of
E1
Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act 2021 (retro-tax repeal) www.indiacode.nic.in

Capital & Ecosystem Depth — 6.1/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Committed capital 40% of dimension 6.5 /10 Closed financings: Microsoft $3B India commitment with land acquired, Amazon multi-billion region build, AdaniConneX debt facilities, Yotta GPU deployments (E1/E2 mix). as of
E2
Microsoft/AWS India investment disclosures news.microsoft.com
Ecosystem 30% of dimension 6 /10 ~1.5 GW operating stock growing fast, Mumbai/Chennai subsea hubs, all hyperscalers present; favorable US export-control treatment for GPU imports. as of
E1
EIA/ERCOT load data; TeleGeography fiber maps www.submarinecablemap.com
Sovereign/anchor capital availability 30% of dimension 5.5 /10 IndiaAI Mission (INR 10,372 crore appropriated, GPU procurement executed, E1) and NIIF infrastructure co-investment; modest scale vs Gulf SWFs. as of
E1
IndiaAI Mission (MeitY) indiaai.gov.in

Stability & Execution Risk — 6/10 (weight 15%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Political/policy continuity 40% of dimension 7 /10 Strong electoral mandate continuity and consistent digital-infrastructure policy across administrations; federal-state divergence is the main friction. as of
E1
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators www.worldbank.org
Currency, transfer & convertibility 35% of dimension 4.5 /10 INR not fully capital-account convertible (FEMA framework, repatriation procedural but permitted); BBB- sovereign; inflation moderate. as of
E1
IMF AREAER — United States www.elibrary-areaer.imf.org
Physical & geopolitical risk 25% of dimension 6.5 /10 Border tensions (China/Pakistan) far from DC metros; low sanctions exposure; monsoon flooding in Mumbai/Chennai is a recurring siting risk. as of
E1
ACLED / public risk data acleddata.com

Signals

Recent ingested source documents linked to this jurisdiction via extracted claims or triage mentions, newest first.

  1. E4
    Data centers face grid support obligations to unlock power in Asia Pacific - report

    · Data Center Dynamics · relevance 0.70

  2. E4
    Suzlon Energy shares jump 3%: Why brokers see up to 36% upside for ‘most investible Indian wind player’

    · ET Home · relevance 0.10

  3. E4
    Adani, Jabil announce plans for AI Data Centre in India

    · ET News · relevance 0.70

  4. E4
    Adani, Jabil Alliance to Build AI Data Center Gear in India

    · Bloomberg Technology · relevance 0.70

  5. E4
    Indian Firm Scales Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Production for Batteries and Chips

    · EE Times · relevance 0.20

  6. E4
    Google Cloud Disruptions Continue After India Data Center Fire

    · Data Center Knowledge · relevance 0.70

  7. E4
    Hitachi to set up Rs 2k cr transformer unit

    · ET Top Stories · relevance 0.30

  8. E4
    Microsoft taps Alt Carbon in sign of India’s growing role in carbon removal

    · Techcrunch · relevance 0.20

  9. E4
    Meta Partners With Reliance on AI-Enabled Data Center in India

    · Meta Newsroom · relevance 0.70

  10. E4
    India Puts Starlink Launch on Hold

    · Bloomberg Technology · relevance 0.00

Scores are reproducible from the frozen inputs snapshot recorded at computation time (2026-06-15T23:52:38+00:00). See the full methodology for rubrics, weights, and the evidence ladder.