Microsoft has launched its fourth cloud region in India, with a new datacentre region in Hyderabad aimed at supporting growing demand for cloud and AI services among Indian enterprises.
The India South Central region is now generally available, giving customers access to Microsoft Cloud services from Hyderabad. The company said the region is designed to support mission-critical workloads with enhanced data residency, resilience, security and compliance capabilities.
Microsoft now operates cloud regions in Pune, Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad, which it describes as the largest hyperscale cloud presence in India. It also operates two datacentres in partnership with Jio.
The launch comes as Microsoft reports strong double-digit growth for Azure in India over the past two years, with the company positioning the additional capacity as infrastructure for the country’s growing AI economy.
Early-access customers for the Hyderabad region include Adani Group, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and PB Pay. The companies are expected to use the new region for applications including business continuity, disaster recovery, AI workloads and other mission-critical services.
The Hyderabad region comprises three Availability Zones and has been designed to support regulated and mission-critical workloads. Microsoft said the infrastructure incorporates controls intended to support data governance and sovereignty requirements in India.
The company is also deploying zero-water cooling technology at the site, using air-cooled chillers as part of its wider effort to reduce water consumption at its datacentres.
The launch builds on Microsoft’s major expansion of its cloud and AI infrastructure in India. The company announced a US$3 billion investment in the country in January 2025, followed by a further US$17.5 billion commitment in December 2025.
Microsoft said its global cloud infrastructure now spans more than 80 regions across 34 countries, with more than 500 datacentres and over 800,000 kilometres of terrestrial and subsea fibre.
The company is also highlighting the growth of enterprise AI adoption in India. It said more than 90% of NIFTY 100 companies in its analysis are using Microsoft 365 Copilot, while Infosys, TCS and Wipro have collectively signed up for more than 400,000 Copilot seats.
Puneet Chandok, president of Microsoft India and South Asia, said the new region would provide enterprises with infrastructure closer to where their data and operations are located as they move AI projects from experimentation into production.
Microsoft’s latest infrastructure push comes as Indian enterprises increasingly look to deploy AI at scale, creating greater demand for local cloud capacity, high-performance computing and infrastructure capable of meeting data governance and resilience requirements.
The company said India South Central will also support Microsoft’s wider digital skills ambitions. It has committed to equipping 20 million Indians with AI skills by 2030 and said it has trained 5.6 million people since January 2025, with more than 125,000 subsequently accessing jobs or entrepreneurial opportunities.
Microsoft said it has also contracted more than 1GW of new solar, wind and hybrid energy projects in India through corporate power purchase agreements and other long-term agreements. More than 630MW of this capacity is already operational.
The company said the Hyderabad region forms part of its broader commitment to making India a major hub for cloud and AI infrastructure, as demand for enterprise AI moves increasingly from pilot projects towards production deployments.