Mumbai, Oct. 19 -- Data centres could account for 1 to 2 per cent of India's total electricity consumption over the next decade, compared with around 0.5 per cent currently, as the country expands its digital infrastructure, NITI Aayog Member Abhay Karandikar said on Wednesday. He was speaking at an event in New Delhi to release the Data Centre Set-Up Evaluation Framework Report.

Karandikar said electricity demand would rise as data centres expand, adding that India had a roadmap to meet the additional requirement. He noted that data centres in the United States and Europe account for about 2 to 5 per cent of total electricity consumption, a higher share than India's current level.

The projected increase is expected to add pressure on the availability of electricity and water, particularly as demand for artificial intelligence and other digital services grows. Karandikar said the government was working to increase energy supply through renewable sources and potentially nuclear power in the coming years.

The newly released framework provides guiding principles and a methodology for assessing data centre proposals, including their electricity and water requirements. Water is primarily used to cool servers, but advances in cooling technology could reduce consumption and create opportunities for Indian technology companies, he said.

Major data centres are currently concentrated in Mumbai, Chennai and the Delhi-NCR region. Future expansion could reach Lucknow, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune as states make land, electricity and water available. On 6G telecommunications, Karandikar said some spectrum bands had been identified, while further decisions at the World Radiocommunication Conference could help identify additional bands around 6 GHz. India has 4 years to plan spectrum requirements for 2030, including possible coexistence with satellite services. He added that foreign satellite communication companies could support broadband expansion under licensing conditions while India protects its national interests and develops domestic technology.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.