India offers zero taxes through 2047 to lure global AI workloads

Investment in AI Data Centers - Digital Connexion plans to invest $11 billion by 2030 to develop a 1-gigawatt AI-focused data center campus in Andhra Pradesh, highlighting significant interest from both domestic and global investors in AI infrastructure [1] - Google announced a $15 billion investment to build an AI hub and expand data-center infrastructure in India, following a previous $10 billion commitment in 2020 [2] - Microsoft plans to invest $17.5 billion by 2029 to expand its AI and cloud footprint in India [2] - Amazon will invest an additional $35 billion in India by 2030, raising its total planned commitment to approximately $75 billion [2] Strategic Importance of Data Centers - The U.S. cloud giants are racing to add data-center capacity globally, with India emerging as an attractive location due to its engineering talent and demand for cloud services [3] - India's finance minister proposed a tax holiday on revenues from cloud services sold outside India if run from local data centers, aiming to attract foreign investment [4][5] - The budget also includes a 15% cost-plus safe harbor for Indian data-center operators providing services to foreign entities [4] Challenges and Projections - Scaling up data center capacity in India faces challenges such as power shortages, high electricity costs, and water scarcity, which could impact construction and operating costs [6] - India's data-center power capacity is projected to exceed 2 gigawatts by 2026 and could expand to over 8 gigawatts by 2030, driven by capital investments exceeding $30 billion [8] Broader Economic Initiatives - The Indian government is increasing its focus on electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, launching a second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission to enhance domestic production capabilities [10] - The budget raised the outlay for the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme to ₹400 billion (around $4.36 billion) to attract global suppliers and reduce reliance on imports [11][12] - Measures to boost cross-border e-commerce include removing the ₹1 million (around $11,000) value cap per consignment on courier exports, benefiting small manufacturers and startups [15] Long-term Vision - The latest measures emphasize India's ambition to become a long-term hub for global technology infrastructure, focusing on cloud computing, electronics manufacturing, and critical minerals [16]