New Delhi, September 2026 : The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has sanctioned loans of more than Rs 3,000 crore each for at least four data-centre projects, underlining the growing financing needs of India’s rapidly expanding artificial intelligence and cloud-computing infrastructure, Bloomberg reported.
The state-owned development finance institution expects data centres to remain a significant source of long-term project-financing demand as hyperscalers and major cloud-service providers continue to expand their operations in India.
NaBFID Managing Director Rajkiran Rai G said the loans sanctioned for data-centre projects come with extended moratorium periods to account for the substantial capital required during the construction phase. The facilities provide moratoriums of up to five years, followed by repayment over the subsequent 10 years.
Rai said data-centre projects generate “good” cash flows despite their long construction periods, adding that NaBFID has witnessed strong interest from hyperscalers and cloud-service companies seeking to expand their infrastructure in the country.
Data-centre developments require significant upfront expenditure on land, electricity infrastructure, advanced cooling systems and specialised equipment before operations begin. Once commissioned, however, the facilities can generate relatively steady cash flows, making them suitable for long-term project financing.
The latest lending activity comes as Indian and global companies accelerate investments in the country’s digital infrastructure. Domestic groups such as the Adani Group and international investors including EQT AB, Blackstone Inc. and Alphabet Inc. have been expanding their presence in India’s data-centre market.
An internal NaBFID presentation estimates that India’s data-centre sector will require around Rs 1 lakh crore in funding through March 2031. The projected requirement reflects rising demand for computing capacity as businesses adopt cloud services and artificial intelligence applications.
NaBFID is also working to broaden its funding sources to meet the growing financing requirements of infrastructure projects. The institution plans to raise around Rs 1 trillion during the financial year ending in March, with approximately 40 per cent of the amount expected to come from offshore sources by the end of December, Bloomberg reported.
Rai said NaBFID has already raised nearly $1 billion through foreign-currency loans under a special Reserve Bank of India window that remains available until December 31.
Foreign banks have also been appointed to arrange a 10-year dollar-denominated bond of a similar size under the same mechanism, according to Rai.
The financing push reflects the changing nature of India’s infrastructure investment landscape. While roads, railways and power have traditionally accounted for a significant share of infrastructure financing, digital infrastructure is emerging as another major area of long-term capital deployment.
Data centres form the backbone of the country’s growing cloud and AI ecosystem, supporting digital services, enterprise applications and increasingly intensive computing requirements.
With hyperscalers and technology companies expanding their Indian operations, demand for large-scale data-centre capacity is expected to remain strong. NaBFID’s lending activity indicates the growing role of specialised infrastructure finance in supporting this expansion and meeting the substantial capital requirements of the sector.
