New Delhi, Oct. 15 -- States should assess the availability of electricity, water, land and supporting infrastructure before approving data centre projects, says a new framework released by NITI Aayog on Wednesday, which aims to help states balance investment with long-term sustainability as digital infrastructure expands across the country. The framework -- 'Data Centre Evaluation Framework to Help States Plan for Sustainable Growth' has been developed by NITI Frontier Tech Hub and was launched by NITI Aayog member Prof Abhay Karandikar alongside CEO Anurag Jain. The framework sets out five pillars for evaluating projects - power and energy; water and cooling; siting and environmental sustainability; economic and strategic value; and polic...