The data-centre rush

India must ensure that investment is sustainable

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The Al Impact Summit in New Delhi last week was accompanied by a flurry of investment promises. Reliance Industries has promised to put $110 billion in artificial intelligence (Al) and data infrastructure, while Adani Enterprises has said it will invest $100 billion in green energy-powered data centres over the next decade.

Some foreign firms too have said they intend to have large capital investment in the sector in India and elsewhere in the Global South; Microsoft, for example, had promised $17.5 billion last year and has indicated now that it plans a $50 billion commitment to developing-world Al infrastructure. This is, at least in part, a response to some deep-seated structural factors. India is already one of the world’s largest consumers of data, and that is growing in double digits annually. As countries move towards enforcing certain aspects of data protection and sovereignty, it makes sense to ensure that local data centres are built so as to meet regulatory requirements, current and future.