India’s data centre hub push gets ‘Nvidia boost’ after budget 2026 incentives
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India’s ambition to emerge as a global data centre hub has received a major endorsement from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, following significant incentives announced in the Union Budget 2026 to attract large-scale investments in digital infrastructure.
The Centre has proposed a long-term tax holiday extending up to 2047 for foreign companies offering global cloud services through India-based data centres.
Separately, a 20-year tax holiday has been announced specifically for data centre projects.
Government officials estimate that these measures could attract investments of up to $200 billion.
Speaking at the 3DExperience World 2026 event in Houston, Huang said artificial intelligence infrastructure, particularly data centres, should be viewed as essential national infrastructure, comparable to electricity and water.
“India should both welcome global data centre companies and encourage Indian firms to build data centres locally,” Huang said, highlighting NVIDIA’s joint investments and partnerships in the country.
While the direct employment generated by a single data centre may range between 5,000 and 10,000 jobs — primarily involving electricians, plumbers, and construction workers — Huang stressed that the broader economic impact is far larger.
“The derivative workforce is quite gigantic,” he said, pointing to the extended supply chain that includes concrete, piping, design, architecture, project management, and logistics. He added that once a data centre becomes operational, it supports ongoing operations and enables startups and technology services to grow on top of the infrastructure.
Huang compared data centres to power plants and water facilities, noting that although such infrastructure may not employ large numbers directly, it creates substantial upstream and downstream employment. Drawing parallels with India’s internet boom, he said the spread of internet infrastructure had generated massive job creation across the economy, and artificial intelligence could have a similar transformative impact if backed by robust data centre capacity.
Industry observers said the government’s tax incentives, combined with support from global technology leaders such as NVIDIA, could significantly strengthen India’s position in cloud computing and AI, while driving long-term employment and innovation across sectors.