India’s state-run infrastructure financier, the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), has sanctioned loans of more than ₹3,000 crore ($313 million) each to at least four data centre projects, taking its total lending to the sector above $1.2 billion.
The financing reflects the growing requirement for large-scale infrastructure to support India’s expansion in artificial intelligence and cloud computing. NaBFID Managing Director Rajkiran Rai G. said the sanctioned facilities carry a moratorium of up to five years, followed by a repayment period of 10 years.
According to Rai, data centre projects can generate “good” cash flows despite their relatively long construction periods. He also said the lender has seen strong traction from hyperscalers and large cloud service providers seeking financing for their expansion in India.
The increased demand for project financing comes as companies step up spending on data centres and other infrastructure required to support AI computing capacity. Global investors including EQT AB, Blackstone Inc. and Alphabet Inc., along with Indian conglomerates such as the Adani Group, have committed significant investments towards AI-related infrastructure in the country.
NaBFID estimates that India’s data centre sector will require around ₹1 trillion in funding through March 2031. The estimate highlights the scale of capital expected to be deployed as the country expands its digital infrastructure and computing capacity.
The infrastructure financier is also looking to diversify its borrowing sources. It has prepared for its maiden dollar bond following the US Federal Reserve’s interest-rate increase this week.
NaBFID plans to raise around ₹1 trillion during the financial year ending March, with approximately 40% of the borrowing expected to come from overseas sources by the end of December, Rai said.
The lender has already raised close to $1 billion through offshore loans under the concessional window made available by the Reserve Bank of India until December 31. It has also mandated foreign banks to mobilise a 10-year dollar bond of a similar size through the same window by the end of September.
The growing flow of financing into data centres comes as India seeks to expand its role in the global AI infrastructure buildout, with long-term capital requirements rising across data centre construction, computing capacity and associated digital infrastructure.
