The Government of India has announced a landmark investment by Google to establish a 1-gigawatt (GW) hyperscale data centre and India’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The mega project, valued at approximately ₹87,520 crore ($15 billion), is poised to generate ₹10,000 crore in revenue for the state and create up to 30,000 jobs, positioning Andhra Pradesh as a new digital and AI powerhouse.
Project Highlights and Economic Impact
The state-of-the-art data centre campus, developed in partnership with Adani and Airtel, will be rolled out over five years (2026–2030). The facility’s scale—India’s first gigawatt-level data centre—will directly create 5,000–6,000 jobs and as many as 30,000 overall including indirect employment, in fields spanning technology, infrastructure, power, and cooling.
Union Minister Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar termed the project a “defining milestone” in Andhra Pradesh’s trajectory of innovation and self-reliance. The project will catalyze economic activity, leveraging Visakhapatnam’s growing infrastructure and manpower, and generate significant multiplier effects for the regional economy.
Digital Infrastructure and Strategic Significance
Beyond its immediate employment and revenue impact, Google’s campus will anchor India’s first global AI hub, giving businesses, developers, and researchers access to world-class compute resources for AI training and deployment. The new campus will be supported by international subsea cables as a major new gateway on India’s eastern coast, increasing the resilience and connectivity of the national digital backbone.
The project’s sustainability focus includes new clean energy investments and cutting-edge energy storage, boosting Andhra Pradesh’s green credentials. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and IT Minister Nara Lokesh played key roles in securing the project and facilitating policy clarity around data centre taxation and infrastructure.
Leadership and Industry Reactions
The announcement event was attended by top dignitaries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, IT Minister Nara Lokesh, and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. Leaders hailed the project as ushering in a new era for both Andhra Pradesh and India’s digital transformation. Google CEO Sundar Pichai called this hub a generational leap for AI capability—delivering tools, inclusivity, and economic empowerment across the nation.
Conclusion
With this pioneering data centre campus, Visakhapatnam is on track to become a global hub for cloud, digital infrastructure, and AI-driven innovation. Google’s major investment signals renewed international confidence in Andhra Pradesh’s digital trajectory and is a powerful catalyst toward building a Viksit Bharat—an innovative, self-reliant India.
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Source: PIB
