New Delhi: The investment frequency of foreign funding for data centres and digital infrastructure in India has seen a decline, with deals falling from 2-3 deals a month until June to one investment a month, reported The Hindu Business Line.At the same time, the size of foreign funding also decreased from around $600-900 million a month in the first half of 2026 to around $100 million, indicates Tracxn data. The last investment was $130 million on July 15, while August recorded no foreign funding.The Hindu Business Line report added that the investment frequency has decreased at a time when India has been witnessing protests over construction of data centres. Residents of Balkam, in Maharashtra’s Thane had recently voiced concerns about water and electricity shortages and noise pollution. Residents of Visakhapatnam have also raised such concerns, alleging that local authorities didn’t complete the necessary compliance measures before allocating the land.“There is a lot of exuberance and euphoria around data centres among investors, but obtaining the required environmental clearances remains an overhang on execution. The local protests are further delaying project execution, creating short-term challenges,” Kranthi Bathini, Director, Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities told the publication.Protesters on their part say that while data centres are important, it has to be seen if there is transparency and proper planning in such projects.“There is little disagreement that data centres are an important part of India’s digital and AI infrastructure. The real question is whether a project of this scale is being developed with adequate transparency, proper land-use compliance, infrastructure planning and protection of the interests of surrounding citizens,” said Dayanand Nene, a member of the WakeUp Thane protesters, in a public note.