India builds AI-ready cloud ecosystem as MeghRaj powers digital governance

The key features of GI Cloud–MeghRaj include elasticity and scalability, pay-per-use metering, self-service provisioning, rapid deployment of applications, and on-demand service availability.

India is steadily building a secure, scalable, and AI-ready cloud infrastructure to support digital governance, private sector collaboration, and citizen-centric services, as demand for cloud computing continues to rise across government, industry, and social sectors.

The growing adoption of cloud services is being driven by India’s rapid digital transformation and the expanding use of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled applications in governance, banking, healthcare, education, and critical infrastructure.

To meet the cloud requirements of the Government of India, a national cloud infrastructure has been established under the Digital India initiative. Known as GI Cloud (MeghRaj), the platform provides secure, elastic, and scalable cloud services for the delivery of e-Governance applications and digital public services.

The key features of GI Cloud–MeghRaj include elasticity and scalability, pay-per-use metering, self-service provisioning, rapid deployment of applications, and on-demand service availability. These features enable government departments to modernise their IT infrastructure while optimising costs and improving service delivery.

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) serves as the primary government cloud service provider and offers cloud services to Ministries and Departments at both the Central and State levels. As of now, 2,170 Ministries and Departments have migrated and hosted their cloud-based applications on the MeghRaj platform.

In addition to NIC’s services, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has empanelled 26 cloud service providers to meet the diverse cloud requirements of Central and State governments. These providers were empanelled after undergoing successful audits by the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate and complying with international security standards such as ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, and ISO 20000. Details of the empanelled providers are available on MeitY’s official Ambud portal.

NIC also engages private cloud service providers through open tenders to supplement government cloud infrastructure and ensure service resilience, flexibility, and innovation.

Government cloud services are delivered through National Data Centres, which are designed with a robust, layered security framework. These centres follow established security practices and procedures to safeguard data and applications from potential cyber threats, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of government digital services.

The expansion of data centres across India is being driven by increased digitalisation and the rapid adoption of AI technologies in both government and private sectors. Industry estimates suggest that India’s cloud data centre capacity has reached approximately 1,280 megawatts (MW), serving critical sectors such as banking, power, and other essential public infrastructure. This capacity is projected to grow four to five times by 2030, reflecting strong future demand.

Global technology companies are also making significant investments in India’s data centre and AI ecosystem. Google has announced a USD 15 billion AI Hub in Visakhapatnam, marking its largest investment in the country, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) is establishing a USD 8.3 billion data centre in Maharashtra.

This information was shared by Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Jitin Prasada, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 12 December 2025, highlighting India’s progress towards building a resilient, secure, and future-ready digital infrastructure.