Microsoft opened its fourth cloud region in India, with Hyderabad at the center of the move. The new India South Central region joins Microsoft hubs in Pune, Chennai and Mumbai, and supports the company’s wider investment plans in India, including its earlier USD 20.5 billion commitment. Microsoft India and South Asia President Puneet Chandok said India now creates nearly 20% of the world’s data while having only around 3% of global data center capacity, adding that “Between these two numbers sits the largest opportunity of the decade for India.” India currently has about 2GW of data center capacity, which Chandok expects to reach 12GW to 14GW by 2035. Microsoft expects more companies and government bodies to move from testing AI to using it at scale, with Chandok saying the main challenge is building enough infrastructure to support future growth. He said, “The digital scale that we are building requires physical scale, and that is the national imperative for all of us.” Hyderabad’s established IT industry gives companies access to skilled workers and the digital and business support needed for large projects. As Indian companies use more AI, they will need more computing power and storage, and more cloud infrastructure in Hyderabad could help meet some of that demand.