Microsoft launches India South Central Cloud Hub in Telangana

Microsoft has officially launched its India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad, Telangana, positioning it as a strategic hub for Asia and the Global South. Hon’ble Minister Shri D. Sridhar Babu joined Microsoft leaders for the inauguration, recognizing Telangana’s growing role in India’s cloud and AI economy. This marks Microsoft’s fourth cloud region in India, designed with a resilient three-zone architecture to meet rising demand for AI innovation and digital infrastructure.The India South Central region is now live and operational, serving customers across India and neighboring regions. Microsoft confirmed that the hub will support long-term capacity expansion, resilience, and AI innovation, with some of India’s most trusted institutions already building on it. The company emphasized that Hyderabad’s ecosystem of talent, academia, and industry will help power next-generation AI and cloud services not only for India but globally.Strategic infrastructure•Resilient three-zone architecture for scalability and reliability.•Largest hyperscale cloud footprint in India, supporting AI-ready workloads.•Designed to serve Asia and the Global South, strengthening India’s position in global cloud infrastructure.Community development•Comprehensive Community Development Programme has reached over 22,400 people in Hyderabad’s datacenter region.•Entrepreneurship initiatives have supported 117 micro-enterprises, sustaining 129 families in Rangareddy district.•Focus on women-led businesses including tailoring, catering, and retail ventures.Skilling for the datacenter economy•Microsoft’s Data Center Academy partners with IIIT Hyderabad, Young India Skills University, Don Bosco Tech Society, and the Telangana government.•600-hour industry-aligned program prepares students for careers in datacenter operations.•Over 556 young people trained, with 118 securing placements; additional analytics programs trained 151 students with 108 placements.•Part of Microsoft’s wider goal to equip 20 million Indians with AI skills by 2030.Water and sustainability•Operates with effectively zero water use for cooling, aligning with Microsoft’s global sustainability goals.•Local water resilience projects include groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting, and watershed management.•By June 2026, the Elikatta program added five million liters of recharge capacity.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.