India is emerging as one of the world’s key markets for AI compute. Network infrastructure provider Lightstorm has secured a ₹2,500 crore debt facility led by IndusInd Bank to expand its AI-focused fibre network, as India ramps up AI compute and data-centre buildout. The company calls the project its “AI Superhighway,” connecting India’s AI data-centre clusters with hyperscale hubs in Southeast Asia.
The network is designed to support the low-latency performance requirements of AI workloads.
The 10-year, fully underwritten debt facility funds the next phase of Lightstorm’s buildout as hyperscalers accelerate data-centre and GPU-cluster deployment across India. Lightstorm’s network spans more than 30,000 km of terrestrial fibre, 21,000 km of subsea fibre, and 100 plus connected data centres globally.
Scott McGibbony, Group Chief Financial Officer, Lightstorm, said, “India is building the compute infrastructure of the AI era, and the network connecting that compute needs to be built to the same standard: purpose-built, performance-guaranteed, and designed to scale.”
IndusInd Bank said the financing reflects the growing importance of connectivity infrastructure as India expands its AI, cloud and hyperscale data-centre capacity.
“As India accelerates its investments in AI, cloud computing, and hyperscale data centres, robust and future-ready connectivity infrastructure will be critical to supporting this transformation,” said Niraj Shah, Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking, IndusInd Bank.
Founded in 2019, Lightstorm is headquartered in Singapore, with its Indian operations run through a Gurugram-based subsidiary.
This financing is part of a broader wave of AI infrastructure investment building up in India, spanning subsea cables, cloud regions and data centres.
India – Southeast Asia AI Connectivity: I-2SEA Submarine Cable System
The development builds on Lightstorm’s July 2 announcement of the I-2SEA submarine cable system, being built in partnership with Microsoft, Singtel and Tata Communications.
The planned 3,600-km cable will connect India, Malaysia and Singapore and is intended to support hyperscalers, GPU infrastructure providers and enterprises running AI training and inference workloads across the India–Southeast Asia corridor.
It will connect AI and data-centre clusters in Hyderabad and Chennai with Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, with landing points at Machilipatnam and South Chennai. NEC Corporation is the system supplier and ASEAN Cableship Pte Ltd the marine installation partner. The cable is targeted to be ready for service in Q4 2029.
Microsoft Expands its India Data-Centre Footprint
The connectivity build comes as hyperscalers continue to expand their infrastructure in India. On August 6, 2026, Microsoft announced the general availability of its India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad, its fourth cloud region in India. The new region has three Availability Zones and is built to support mission-critical and AI workloads.
Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, said the new region is a critical part of the trusted infrastructure foundation needed for AI adoption in India, backed by a cumulative $20.5 billion investment in the country’s cloud and AI future.
Microsoft says more than 90% of NIFTY 100 companies use Microsoft 365 Copilot, based on its own analysis. IDC forecasts India’s public cloud services spending to reach $45.7 billion by 2030, growing at 22.2% annually, with AI spending expanding at roughly twice that rate.
Tax Exemption for Foreign Companies using Indian Data Centres
In the Union Budget 2026–27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a tax holiday through March 31, 2047 for eligible foreign companies providing cloud services globally by procuring data-centre services from specified Indian data centres, subject to conditions.
The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposes to remove the government-notification requirements for the foreign company and specified data centre and allow specified data centres to be leased and operated by Indian companies. The changes will take effect subject to the Bill becoming law and the applicable commencement provisions.
The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 also proposes amendment of conditions of provisions providing exemption to a foreign company procuring data centre services from a specified data centre.
This exemption has been provided for a period up to year ending on the… pic.twitter.com/UowxmutgT8
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) August 10, 2026
The tax changes come as India attracts growing investment in AI, cloud and data-centre infrastructure. Amazon, Microsoft and Google have collectively committed nearly $57 billion toward AI and cloud infrastructure in India, with their investments also supporting data-centre expansion.
Together, these developments show the buildout of AI compute, data-centre, cloud and connectivity infrastructure in India, alongside stronger connections with major AI and hyperscale hubs across Southeast Asia.
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