Индия манит технологических гигантов: нулевые налоги на облачные услуги до 2047 года Translation: India lures tech giants: zero taxes on cloud services until 2047

India has offered foreign cloud service providers tax exemptions until 2047 on revenue generated from services sold outside the country, with the stipulation that workloads must be managed from Indian data centers.

On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced tax holidays—effectively zero taxes—on earnings from cloud services that companies earn beyond Indian borders. Sales made to Indian clients will be subject to standard taxation.

This announcement comes at a time when American tech giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are looking to expand their infrastructure globally to support the growing demands of AI workloads.

Meanwhile, India is positioning itself as an attractive destination for fresh investments, boasting a large talent pool and an increasing appetite for cloud services. It is being promoted as an alternative to the United States, Europe, and certain regions of Asia.

In October, Google announced a $15 billion investment to establish an AI hub in the country. In December, Microsoft followed suit with an even larger investment of $17.5 billion. Amazon plans to invest $35 billion by 2030.

Domestic companies are also ramping up their capacities. In November, Digital Connexion announced an $11 billion investment by 2030 to develop AI-focused data centers with a capacity of 1 GW. The Adani Group, in collaboration with Google, has also announced a $5 billion project.

Tech giants and startups may face challenges due to existing issues in India regarding stable energy supply and water scarcity.

Other nations and regions are also taking significant steps to develop the supporting infrastructure for AI operations.

In Texas, a regulatory body approved energy infrastructure developer Pacifico Energy to build a facility serving a data center with a capacity of 7.65 GW. This will be the «largest gas project» in the United States.

GW Ranch is designed to cater to hyperscale data centers and is being developed independently of the main power grid, allowing customers to draw energy directly from local sources without relying on the Texas grid.

Meanwhile, British Columbia will require most new AI projects and data centers to compete for access to clean energy. The Canadian province is taking measures to manage the rapid increase in electricity demand.

The new competitive process aims to prevent the overload of energy systems while ensuring availability and reliability for existing clients.

It’s worth noting that in November, HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery mentioned that the current revenues of AI companies may not justify their substantial computing expenses.