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Amaravati, Oct 27 (IANS) The Andhra Pradesh government has constituted the Data Center Advisory Council as the state’s empowered forum to guide policy, infrastructure and investment decisions towards the 6,000 MW data center capacity target by 2030, positioning Visakhapatnam as the premier destination in India for AI-era digital infrastructure.
The Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications constituted the council by issuing a government order on Monday.
The formation of the council is based on the Andhra Pradesh Data Center Policy 4.0 and is calibrated to translate key announcements including Google’s 1 GW and Sify Infinity’s 550 MW into accelerated, on-the-ground capacity, high-quality jobs and global investor confidence for Vizag and the wider state.
Chaired by Nara Lokesh, Minister of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (ITE&C), the Council is expected to receive a comprehensive, time-bound roadmap covering power and renewable integration, high capacity fiber connectivity, dedicated DC parks and plug-and-play campuses, streamlined clearances and talent pipelines, cyber as well as real-estate norms in line with hyperscale timelines. But the task of advising the government has been entrusted. Flexibility and global reach to meet the 2030 targets.
The government order said that in addition to guiding the strategic branding for Vizag and Andhra Pradesh, the council will establish a continuous policy-feedback loop to refine the Data Center Policy 4.0 for speed, competitiveness and investor certainty as the projects move from MoU to construction and operation.
The Council brings together the leadership of hyperscale cloud, global data center operators, real-estate and consulting firms, state data center operators, technology advocates, industry bodies and academia under a single, empowering platform to align with industry needs and international best practice.
The council will have representation from Microsoft Azure on cloud and AI, NTT GDC India and ST Telemedia GDC on global operations, Cushman & Wakefield and JLL for land and industrial consultancy, Pai Data Center from the state ecosystem, Schneider Electric on power and cooling and Jio Platforms on fiber and connectivity, ranging from site and power to network. And will ensure an end-to-end approach till operations.
The depth of the policy and ecosystem has been developed by NASSCOM, DSCI, ISPAI and IEEMA, and academic leadership from Andhra University, IIM Visakhapatnam and IIT Tirupati with flexible partners including CERT‑In, APSDMA, and APTS (State Cyber Security Operations Centre) and the state network backbone APSFL to support secure, reliable development at scale. Has been extended to.
Operationally, the Council can constitute domain-specific sub-committees and task forces, supported by a dedicated secretariat drawn from ITE&C and APEDB, with technical and operational support from Primus Partners for meeting management, coordination and follow-up, enabling a tight execution cadence from decision to delivery.
This structure is designed to synchronize utilities and permissions with the build schedule, convert anchor commitments from Google and Sify into accelerated construction, and expand the investor pipeline to reach the 6,000 MW target by 2030 through focused international outreach, diplomatic engagement and single-window support.
Nara Lokesh said, “In the AI era, data is the new oil, and data centers are the new refineries. With Google’s 1 GW and Sify’s 550 MW as the first anchor of very large buildouts, I am confident that Vizag will emerge as the data center capital of the country.”
He said the advisory council will guide decisive policy, power and permission to make Vizag India’s most competitive home for AI-era data infrastructure.
–IANS
MS/UK