Advisory council formed to drive rapid growth of data centres

Vijayawada: In a move to position Andhra Pradesh as a global data infrastructure hub and drive rapid growth of the Data Centre (DC) sector, the state government has constituted a Data Centre Advisory Council under the leadership of minister for IT and HRD Nara Lokesh. The high-powered council includes CXOs and India heads of leading global technology and infrastructure firms operating data centres in India, along with academic and policy leaders.

The 20-member advisory body’s formation marks a major step in implementing the Andhra Pradesh Data Centre Policy 4.0, which offers one of the most comprehensive incentive frameworks in India, including capital subsidies, tax reimbursements, stamp duty exemptions, and power and regulatory benefits, to attract large-scale data centre investments. Principal secretary to ITE&C department Katamaneni Bhasker said that the government aims to create a robust, future-ready data centre ecosystem to support the surging demand driven by AI, cloud computing, and digital transformation. The newly formed council will function as the apex platform to provide strategic direction, policy oversight, infrastructure planning, talent development, and global outreach.

The council’s mandate includes preparing a five-year roadmap for the sector, reviewing policy implementation, and advising on the creation of data centre parks, plug-and-play campuses, and renewable-powered edge facilities. It will also work with educational institutions to align skilling programs with industry demand and assist in branding Andhra Pradesh, especially Visakhapatnam, as India’s next major data centre destination.

The 20-member advisory body features industry leaders such as Srikanth Karnakota (Microsoft), Sharad Sanghi (NTT GDC India), Lalit Khanna (ST Telemedia GDC), Anish Shah (Jio Platforms), and Deepak Sharma (Schneider Electric India), alongside representatives from NASSCOM, DSCI, IEEMA, and ISPAI. Academic participation includes the vice-chancellors and directors of Andhra University, IIM Visakhapatnam, and IIT Tirupati, while CERT-In, APSDMA, and AP Technology Services represent cybersecurity and resilience expertise. A dedicated secretariat, supported by Primus Partners, will coordinate the council’s activities and ensure timely execution. The initiative was taken to fulfill Andhra Pradesh’s ambition to attract multi-billion-dollar investments, enhance digital infrastructure resilience, and generate high-value employment across the state.