UP Data Centre Policy 2026 targets Rs 2 lakh crore investments. New framework promotes AI-ready infrastructure and green data centre development.
Policy aims to add 2 GW capacity across Uttar Pradesh.
The government expects 57,500 employment opportunities through upcoming data centre projects.
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved the Uttar Pradesh Data Centre Policy 2026, aimed at positioning the state as a green, artificial intelligence (AI)-ready and globally competitive data centre hub.
Under the new policy, the state government plans to attract investments exceeding Rs 2 lakh crore and develop an additional 2 Gigawatts (GW) of data centre capacity.
“The objective of the policy is to develop Uttar Pradesh as a Green, AI-ready, and globally competitive Data Center hub,” the state government said.
The new policy replaces the Uttar Pradesh Data Centre Policy 2021, which was introduced in January 2021 and later amended in November 2022. The earlier policy expired on January 27, following which the government introduced the new framework.
AI And Green Incentives
Uttar Pradesh IT and Electronics Minister Sunil Sharma said the new policy places special emphasis on GPU-based infrastructure, energy efficiency and sustainable development.
“The new policy places special emphasis on GPU-based infrastructure, energy efficiency, and sustainable development. In addition, extra incentives have been proposed for the Bundelkhand and Purvanchal regions. The policy includes provisions such as incentives for Tier/Rating-3 and 4 Data Centres, AI Compute Booster incentives, and Green and Sustainable Operations incentives,” Sharma said.
The policy proposes additional incentives for projects in Bundelkhand and Purvanchal, with the aim of promoting investment in regions that have traditionally received lower industrial investment compared with other parts of the state.
The government expects the policy to help create a world-class data centre ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh while attracting information technology and IT-enabled service companies to the state.
According to the government, the policy is expected to generate around 7,500 long-term direct employment opportunities. It is also projected to create nearly 50,000 short-term direct jobs during the construction phase of data centre projects.
Data Centre Ambitions
The state had introduced its first data centre policy in 2021 to establish itself as a major digital infrastructure destination. Under the previous policy, six data centre parks and two data centre units with a capacity of less than 40 Megawatts received approval, involving investments of around Rs 21,343 crore. Of these, seven projects have already become operational, according to the state government.
The latest policy comes at a time when demand for data storage, cloud computing and AI infrastructure is increasing rapidly across India. By offering incentives for advanced computing facilities, including GPU-based data centres, Uttar Pradesh aims to attract companies involved in artificial intelligence, cloud services and digital technologies.
The government has also highlighted the importance of green operations, with incentives planned for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable data centre projects.
With the new policy, Uttar Pradesh aims to strengthen its position in India’s growing digital economy and create a large-scale infrastructure network capable of supporting emerging technologies.
