- Our largest investment in Asia; adds to previous investment of US$3 billion
- We will have thethe largest hyperscale presence in India with OUR the new data center will be operational by mid-2026
- India’s 310 million informal workers will benefit from the integration of Microsoft AI into e-Shram and National Career Service (NCS) platforms
- Doubling our skills commitment to reach 20 million by 2030
India is at a pivotal moment in its AI journey, defined by large-scale impact, determined to take the lead. As technology becomes a catalyst for inclusive growth and economic transformation, the country is emerging as a pioneering nation in AI. In this context of bold ambition and accelerated innovation, Today we are announcing our largest investment in Asia – US$17.5 billion over four years (2026 to 2029) – to advance the country’s infrastructure, skills and ongoing operations in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI). This investment is based on the $3 billion investment announced earlier this year, that we are on track to spend by the end of CY2026.
Today’s announcement follows Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella’s meeting with the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, ahead of our AI tour of India. During their meeting, the two leaders discussed the country’s AI roadmap and growth priorities. Microsoft’s investment in India focuses on three pillars—scale, skills and sovereignty—in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to build a comprehensive ecosystem that drives innovation and access to AI nationally.
Together, Microsoft and India are poised to set new benchmarks and move the country from digital to public AI infrastructure in the decade to come. We are shaping a future that is more equitable and uniquely Indian in scale and impact.
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology said, “As AI reshapes the digital economy, India remains committed to innovation rooted in trust and sovereignty. Microsoft’s historic investment is a testament to India’s rise as a trusted technology partner to the world. This partnership will set new benchmarks and enable the country to move from digital to public AI infrastructure.
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labor and Employment, Youth Affairs and Sports, said: “India has reached a historic milestone in social protection, with coverage increasing from 19% in 2015 to an impressive 64.3% in 2025, benefiting more than 94 million citizens. By integrating AI into platforms like eShram and the National Career Service, we are strengthening social security and moving closer to our goal of social protection for 100 million citizens. We applaud Microsoft’s commitment to of an AI-driven future and our contribution to improving social security in India. Additionally, Microsoft’s initiative to encourage its broader ecosystem of partners and customers to participate as job providers or stakeholders on the NCS portal reflects its deep commitment to strengthening its relationship with India and driving inclusive growth.
Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India and South Asiasaid, “Microsoft has been part of the fabric of India for over three decades. As the country confidently moves towards its AI-driven future, we are proud to be a trusted partner in developing the infrastructure, innovation and opportunities that can power a billion dreams.” Building on the $3 billion investment announced in January 2025, our new $17.5 billion commitment and deep partnership across India’s technology ecosystem aims to transform India’s AI ambition into impact for every citizen. This transformation is built on three pillars: large-scale infrastructure to run AI at scale, sovereign solutions that ensure trust, and skills programs that enable every Indian to not only join the future, but also shape it. »
Our new investment will be used to continue to scale our cloud and AI infrastructure, skills initiatives and ongoing operations across India. This includes our workforce of over 22,000 employees across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Noida and other cities, representing the diversity of Microsoft’s business. They drive every step of our product cycle, from model development to engineering and product innovation. Their work contributes to innovation across Microsoft’s entire AI stack – from infrastructure to application platforms to products – while operating large-scale data centers and providing sales and support to customers nationwide. These teams are not only powering India’s digital transformation but also driving AI impact globally: Copilot Studio, Azure AI Search, AI Agents, AI Speech and Translation, Azure Machine Learning and more. Every day, they work closely with India’s leading companies, developers and institutions to unlock the promise of AI for the country.
The backbone of India’s AI infrastructure
A key priority of our investment is to build secure, state-ready hyperscale infrastructure to enable AI adoption in India. At the heart of this effort is the significant progress made at the level The South Central India cloud region, based in Hyderabad, is expected to go live in mid-2026. This will be our largest hyperscale region in India, comprising three availability zones – in size roughly equivalent to two Eden Gardens stadiums combined.
We will also continue to expand our three existing operational data center regions in Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. This expansion provides organizations across India with greater choice and resilience, enabling critical low-latency performance for businesses, startups and public sector institutions.
DIFFUSION OF AI AT POPULATION LEVEL
We also announced today our efforts to integrate advanced AI capabilities into two key digital public platforms of the Department of Labor and Employment: e-Shram and the National Career Service (NCS). The initiative aims to extend the benefits of AI to more than 310 million informal workers. Built on Microsoft Azure’s secure and scalable cloud infrastructure, e-Shram connects workers to 18 social protection schemes and has helped expand India’s social protection coverage from 24% in 2019 to 64% in 2025 (ILO estimates).
With Azure OpenAI Service, e-Shram and NCS now offer enhanced features such as multilingual access, AI-assisted job matching, predictive analytics on skills and demand trends, automated resume creation, and personalized pathways to formal employment. This collaboration marks a continued advancement in the application of AI at the population level, strengthening India’s digital public infrastructure and improving the accessibility and efficiency of employment and social protection services.
BUILD AN AI-READY WORKFORCE
India’s AI journey hinges on empowering skilled talent. For this, we double our January 2025 commitment equip 20 million Indians with essential AI skills by 2030, working with government, industry and public digital platforms to ensure equitable access to opportunities.
Through our ADVANTA(I)GE India initiative, executed by Microsoft Raisewe have already trained 5.6 million people since January 2025, well ahead of the initial target of 10 million people by 2030. These programs are not just about learning: they create a real economic impacthaving enabled more than 125,000 people to access employment or entrepreneurial opportunities.
DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY SOLUTIONS FOR INDIA
Today, Microsoft is introducing Sovereign Public Cloud and Sovereign Private Cloud for Indian customers.. With sovereign public cloud now available in India, organizations can leverage a prescriptive architecture to deploy workloads in Azure with built-in compliance guardrails using sovereign landing zones, enforce policies and enforce governance controls. Sovereign Public Cloud is now available in Microsoft’s India regions, while Sovereign Private Cloud, powered by Azure Local, will support connected and disconnected operations in customer or partner data centers.
Azure Local now offers hundreds of nodes, external SAN storage integration, and the latest NVIDIA GPUs, enabling high-performance, secure, and compliant environments. Additionally, Microsoft 365 Local which runs on Sovereign Private Cloud, powered by Azure Local, is also available for Indian customers. As digital sovereignty becomes a top priority for Indian businesses facing complex regulatory landscapes, we are leading India’s sovereignty agenda with integrated solutions and investments, while empowering organizations to design secure and compliant environments for the AI era.
Additionally, as recently announced, Microsoft 365 Copilot will offer in-country data processing in India by the end of 2025— making India one of the four major global markets to benefit from this capacity. This means that Copilot prompts and responses, under normal operations, will be processed entirely within India’s borders, strengthening governance, compliance and performance across regulated sectors including government, BFSI and healthcare.
Today’s announcements reflect our continued commitment to India to build an ecosystem that drives innovation, trust and opportunity for all. By developing infrastructure at scale, integrating AI into national platforms and improving workforce readiness, India is well positioned to become the global leader in the AI era, thanks to its scale, skills and sovereignty.
Top image: Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, in conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on December 9, 2025.
Check out more updates and stories from the tour and download high-resolution images from here.