What happened

Gujarat has launched its first Data Centre Policy for 2026-2029. The policy aims to make the state India’s preferred destination for hyperscale data centres, cloud computing, and AI-driven digital infrastructure.

The policy targets ₹6 lakh crore in investment and about 7.5 gigawatts of data centre capacity during the policy period. It was announced in Gandhinagar by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

Policy features

The state has combined fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to attract operators and ancillary industries. These include capital subsidy, interest subsidy, support for power tariffs, reimbursement of State Goods and Services Tax, exemptions from stamp duty and registration charges, and assistance for captive desalination plants.

The desalination support is important because data centres require large volumes of water for cooling. The policy also seeks to improve Gujarat’s position in the digital economy against established hubs such as Telangana, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.