India prepares data-centre policy amid power-cost concerns

The proposed framework aims to support data-centre growth without shifting rising electricity and water pressures onto ordinary consumers.

Deck: The proposed framework is intended to support data-centre investment without shifting the sector’s growing electricity and water burden onto ordinary consumers.

India is preparing a dedicated policy for data centres, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada said at a Central Electricity Authority event in New Delhi on October 14.

Data centres require large amounts of electricity and water. Prasada said the framework should help expand the sector while avoiding a situation in which households face higher power costs or pressure on electricity availability.

The stated aim is to balance investment in hyperscale facilities with electricity affordability and water use.
The minister warned that green-power generation was not keeping pace with the growth of artificial intelligence.
The policy’s detailed provisions and release date have not been announced.
This is therefore a policy under preparation, not a framework already in force.

India currently has no dedicated national data-centre framework. Projects are cleared under existing environmental and building rules, while some states offer their own incentives, Reuters reported.

Verified sources:

Verification note: The announcement was made by the minister at the October 14 event. A policy document and an official release date had not been published at the time of writing.

Image note: AI-generated representative illustration; it does not depict an actual event or a specific data-centre facility.