Maharashtra accelerates approvals to drive data centre investments

Maharashtra is moving to position itself as a major data centre hub, with the state government stepping up clearances and implementation of projects linked to agreements signed during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Switzerland, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday.

Reviewing the implementation of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed at Davos, along with the status of projects under Maharashtra’s Information Technology and Support Services Policy and Integrated Green Data Centre Park Policy-2024, Fadnavis said 10 senior officials would each monitor 10 projects to ensure work is completed within the stipulated timelines.

According to an official release, the meeting was attended by Minister of State Madhuri Misal, Additional Chief Secretary (Energy) Abha Shukla, Industries Principal Secretary Dr P Anbalagan, Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) CEO P Velarasu and CIDCO Managing Director Vijay Singhal.

“The administration should take the initiative and complete land allotment, environmental approvals, building plans and various permissions within the next three months instead of waiting for follow-up from companies. Maharashtra is progressing rapidly in the data centre sector and is moving towards becoming one of the largest data centre investment hubs in the country,” Fadnavis said.

He said the state’s data centre projects were currently at the “investment in progress” stage and were expected to attract substantial investments.

“The power and water required for these data centres are available in abundance in Maharashtra. Therefore, greater emphasis should be laid on simplification of processes and increasing land availability and distribution so that these projects are completed within the prescribed timeframe,” he said.

Fadnavis said Navi Mumbai was emerging as Maharashtra’s main data centre hub, with major projects coming up in Mahape and nearby areas.

He added that plans were underway to develop Khalapur as the third major data centre cluster, while infrastructure strengthening in the Panvel region was also being prioritised.

The chief minister said manufacturing sector investments included major projects in electronics, semiconductor chips, aerospace, textiles, automobiles and defence.

He said the state was also prioritising investments in data centres, IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS), fintech and Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in the services sector.

Fadnavis also reviewed projects being implemented by City and Industrial Development Corporation and directed officials to speed up university projects in the Aerocity area, along with logistics parks, entertainment hubs, data centres and studio apartment projects.