Microsoft Switches On Its Fourth India Cloud Region, Backed by $20.5B

Microsoft has switched on its newest India cloud region, India South Central, based in Hyderabad, Telangana — its fourth cloud region in the country and part of a $20.5 billion commitment to India's cloud and AI infrastructure.

The new region runs on three Availability Zones for resilience and joins Microsoft's existing Central, South, and West India regions, alongside two partnership datacenters run with Jio. It sits within Microsoft's global footprint of more than 80 regions and 500-plus datacenters across 34 countries. The $20.5 billion figure breaks down into a $3 billion commitment announced in January 2025 and a further $17.5 billion announced in December 2025, alongside more than 1,000 megawatts of contracted renewable energy projects, of which over 630 megawatts are already operational.

"The Microsoft India South Central datacenter region is a critical part of that foundation, backed by Microsoft's $20.5 billion investment commitment to India's cloud and AI future," said Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia.

The launch comes as Microsoft points to strong domestic AI adoption: 90% of NIFTY 100 companies now use Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and LTIMindtree together account for more than 400,000 signed Copilot seats. Microsoft says it has trained 5.6 million Indians in AI skills since January 2025, against a target of 20 million by 2030. IDC forecasts India's public cloud services spending will reach $45.7 billion by 2030, growing at 22.2% annually, with AI-specific spending expanding at roughly double that rate.

Early enterprise customers cited proximity and resilience as the draw. HDFC Bank's Atish Bhanushali said the new region "perfectly complements our Central India footprint, strengthening our business continuity and cross-cloud resilience," while PB Pay CEO Harsh Vardhan Masta said early access "lets us scale AI-led innovation responsibly." IDC senior research director William Lee framed the broader shift bluntly: "Proximity, sovereignty and resilience are no longer differentiators but baseline requirements" for enterprise AI adoption.

The region also carries environmental commitments — zero-water cooling technology and 100% renewable energy matching for its annual electricity consumption, part of Microsoft's broader 2030 goals to be carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste.

Source: Microsoft News