Overview
- Microsoft launched its India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad on Monday as the company’s fourth Indian region and part of a $20.5 billion investment plan for the country.
- The Hyderabad data centre is built for advanced AI workloads and uses air-cooled systems designed for effectively zero water use, with three separate zones for independent power, cooling and networking.
- Microsoft has contracted about 1 GW of renewable energy in India, with roughly 630 MW already delivering power to its operations.
- The company says it has trained 10 million people so far toward a 20 million target by 2030 and reports roughly 125,000 people have found jobs or started ventures after its AI training programs.
- Microsoft emphasizes model choice and security for sovereign deployments, citing 11,000 models on Microsoft Foundry and roughly 34,000 engineers working under its Secure Future Initiative as it seeks to position India as an AI infrastructure hub for Asia and the Global South.