The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has approved the Uttar Pradesh data centre policy 2026, aiming to position the state as a leading green and artificial intelligence (AI)-ready data centre hub. The new policy replaces its predecessor, which expired in January this year, and seeks to attract investments of more than Rs 2 trillion while adding 2 gigawatts (GW) of data centre capacity.
The government said the policy will strengthen the state’s digital infrastructure, encourage innovation and support its ambition of becoming a globally competitive technology destination. Additional incentives have been provided for projects coming up in Bundelkhand and Purvanchal.
IT and electronics minister said the policy gives special emphasis to graphics processing unit (GPU)-based infrastructure, energy-efficient facilities and sustainable operations. It also includes incentives for Tier III and Tier IV data centres, AI compute booster support and benefits for green data centre operations.
The policy is expected to generate around 7,500 long-term direct jobs and nearly 50,000 short-term jobs during the construction phase. The government anticipates that information technology and IT-enabled businesses will develop around these facilities, creating fresh opportunities for investment and innovation.
The state had already made significant progress under its previous 2021 data centre policy, with seven projects now operational across six approved data centre parks and two standalone units, involving investments of approximately Rs 213.43 billion. The new policy is intended to build on this momentum by attracting more technology companies and expanding digital infrastructure across the state.