Microsoft announced on September 21 that its Hyderabad cloud region will serve as a strategic hub for AI in India and the Global South, according to medianama.com. The India South Central region, generally available since August 6, 2026, is the company’s fourth cloud region in India, joining Pune, Chennai, and Mumbai. Microsoft also operates two cloud regions with Jio in India.
At its AI Infrastructure Summit in New Delhi, Microsoft framed the Hyderabad region as AI-enabled and said all its Indian cloud regions now support AI workloads. The company plans to launch Microsoft Foundry, a platform for building AI applications, in the region within the coming months. Several Indian companies, including Adani Group, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, and PB Pay, have signed up to use the Hyderabad region. HDFC Bank intends to use it as a disaster recovery site.
The announcement highlights the evolving definition of data residency in India, where laws require customer data to be stored locally but do not clarify how data used in AI models is handled. Microsoft’s promise to allow eligible sensitive workloads to run in Hyderabad is conditional on service availability, reflecting ongoing challenges in balancing regulatory compliance with AI adoption. This move positions Microsoft to support sectors like banking, insurance, and healthcare as they integrate AI while managing data residency requirements.
Microsoft’s India South Central cloud region became generally available on August 6, 2026, and the company confirmed that Microsoft Foundry will be launched there in the coming months, reinforcing its commitment to AI infrastructure in India.