India's push to become a global data centre hub received a significant boost from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, following major incentives announced in Budget 2026. The Centre has proposed a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign firms offering global cloud services from India-based data centres, a move expected to attract up to $200 billion in investment. Speaking at the 3DExperience World 2026 event in Houston, Huang emphasized that India should both welcome global providers and build domestic capacity, stating that AI infrastructure is now as essential as water or electricity. He noted that while building a single data centre can employ 5,000 to 10,000 people, the long-term 'derivative workforce' will replicate the massive job creation seen during India's internet boom.
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"We have joint investments and strong partnerships in India. The country should both welcome global data centre companies and encourage Indian firms to build data centres locally," he said.
"The actual building of the data center is maybe 5,000 people, 10,000 people. They are electricians, plumbers, and construction workers. But don't forget, the derivative workforce, the labor that contributes to ultimately delivering that data center, is quite gigantic," said Mr Huang.
"Think about the entire supply chain, pipes, concrete, design, architecture, project management, and then, once the data center is operational, the ongoing operations and the startup companies that are built on top of it," he said.
Mr Huang said once a data centre is operational, it enables startup companies and technology services to grow on top of that infrastructure.He compared data centres to other critical infrastructure such as power plants and water plants.
Mr Huang said while such facilities may not employ many people directly, they generate significant upstream and downstream employment.
He pointed to the growth of the internet in India, saying it created a vast number of jobs across the economy. Mr Huang said artificial intelligence could have a similar effect if supported by strong data centre infrastructure.
The government has also announced a separate 20-year tax holiday for data centres, a move officials said could attract investments worth up to 200 billion dollars. The incentives are aimed at boosting digital infrastructure, supporting artificial intelligence growth and creating large-scale employment across sectors.
Industry observers said the government's tax incentives, combined with support from global technology leaders, could strengthen India's position in cloud computing and AI.
