On May 28, 2025, India’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-centric Special Economic Zone (SEZ), to be developed by Indore (Madhya Pradesh) based carbon-neutral data center Rackbank Data Centers Private Limited with an investment of Rs1,000 crores in Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
- The SEZ is designed to house state-of-the-art infrastructure for AI research, development, and deployment.
Key Points:
i.The Rackbank Data Center SEZ, spread across six acres, will include a 1.5 lakh square foot (sq.f) facility equipped with advanced servers and systems capable of powering AI technologies and large-scale digital operaions.
ii.The facility will be constructed in four phases, beginning with an 80 Megawatt (MW) capacity and scalable up to 160 MW. It is designed to accommodate up to 100,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)and will employ advanced cooling technologies such as direct-to-chip and immersion cooling systems.
iii.The zone is envisioned as a digital nerve centre for India, with plans to develop four high-density data centres with a combined capacity of 80 MW, sufficient to support digital infrastructure across multiple states.
iii.The SEZ will benefit from tax exemptions and regulatory relaxations under the SEZ framework, providing an enabling environment for global and domestic firms to carry out cutting-edge AI development and data-driven innovation.
iv.The AI SEZ is expected to host operations for leading global technology companies such as California, United States of America (USA) based Google, San Francisco (USA) based Open AI, Washington (USA) based Microsoft, and California (USA) based Meta.
v.The data centre will offer a range of roles, from Information Technology (IT) engineers and data specialists to cybersecurity officers and network managers.
Note: As per the data from Ministry of Commerce (MoC), currently, India has formally approved 423 SEZs, of which 270 are operational.
About Special Economic Zones (SEZs):
i.A Special Economic Zone is a specifically designated area within a country that is governed by different economic regulations than the other region.
ii.The SEZ policy in India, as outlined in the SEZ Act 2005, aims to promote economic growth like promote exports, attract foreign investments, create employment opportunities, and boost overall economic activity by offering tax incentives, simplified procedures, and infrastructure support.
iii.The SEZs are spread across Tamil Nadu (TN), Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat, cater to a wide range of sectors such as IT, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering, and multi-product manufacturing.
About Rackbank Data Centres Private Limited:
Chief Executive Officer(CEO) – Narendra Sen
Headquarters – Indore, Madhya Pradesh, MP
Established – 2013