CNBC Calls India an AI Hedge. The Renewed US Pushback on Data Centres Could Give India's Own Build a Bigger Push
Published: November 10, 2026
CNBC calls India an AI hedge. That is a paradox, because India's data-centre build is itself an AI story, and the renewed US pushback on data centres could give it a bigger push.
In the US midterms, voters sided against data centres in 40 of 41 local ballot measures across 10 states (Ballotpedia, via CNBC). Texas's governor-elect has promised to keep new approvals paused until lawmakers write rules. Norway's grid operator has paused new data centre connections for now.
India's build is already under way, and forecasts see capacity growing 3x to 5x by 2030. Foreign cloud firms get a tax holiday to 2047 on overseas sales from Indian data centres, and India is the second cheapest of 62 markets to build in (Turner & Townsend, which uses Mumbai for India). It has its own fights over power, water and farmland. How much more comes here, it is too early to say.
tigzig.com/post/india-data-centres-engineering-construction-power-nov2026
Foreign investors bought about US$6bn of Indian shares in the six sessions to Monday, the fastest buying in NSDL data back to 2005. Cheaper oil and short covering are in the mix too, and one week does not make a trend. The last two bounces in foreign buying did not hold.
tigzig.com/post/india-fpi-turn-foreign-money-coming-back-nov2026
A few quick points
▸ Axios counts the ballot votes 43 to 1, with about 75% voting for restrictions on average. The Texas pause she has promised would cover new approvals only; Governor Abbott had already paused approvals.
▸ Nvidia fell 4% on Monday after its board opened a probe into reports that CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by Chinese intelligence. Huang has admitted infidelity. China calls the spy claim a smear.
▸ The 2030 forecasts run from 5.6 to 12 GW, about 3x to 5x each source's own estimate of today's capacity. An expert cited by Axis Capital sees 2.8 to 3.6 GW.
▸ The six sessions are 2 to 9 Nov: NSDL's US$5.2bn for 2 to 6 Nov (NSDL lists trades a business day late) plus NSE's Rs 7,212 crore for Monday. Local institutions sold Rs 31,369 crore into it (NSE). Foreign institutions cut their index-futures shorts by 46% from 2 to 6 Nov. Brent's January future is down about a fifth since 30 Oct.
▸ Foreign selling by sector, 8 Nov. Six months of selling in oil and gas, financials, autos and FMCG, and two bounces that did not hold.
tigzig.com/post/india-fpi-sectors-six-months-selling-nov2026
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