Does India Need Data Centres?

What was once a slightly obscure part of the overall AI value chain has now become one of the most contested topics in AI development. At the core of the debate around data centre development lies the oldest question in India’s development story: growth vs sustainability.

Concerns around water use, power consumption, land acquisition, and broadly, resource exploitation have resulted in data centre development moratoriums across the US. On the flip side, India is offering a tax holiday to hyperscalers, over and above other incentives. The argument is simple: data centres are basic tech infrastructure for which India cannot be entirely dependent on foreign suppliers. In the current geopolitical context, this rings especially true (e.g. Fable, Microsoft vs Nayara, chip restrictions, etc).

So, where does India find itself amidst all this? Do we need data centres? Are there ways to overcome concerns? Are the trade-offs worth it? What is the opportunity cost? In these questions of sovereignty, what role can open tech play?

This talk will explore this topic from a policy and geopolitical perspective.

1. An overview of the data centre industry

2. Sustainability concerns

3. Current regulatory and incentive ecosystem in India

4. Ways forward