India to roll out data centre policy amid concerns over power use

India is preparing a policy for data centres as concerns grow over the sector's electricity and water consumption, with the government seeking to prevent higher power costs for consumers, a minister said on Wednesday.

Junior IT Minister Jitin Prasada announced the move but did not elaborate on the policy's scope or when it would be unveiled.

The announcement follows protests by residents in cities including Mumbai and Visakhapatnam against data centre projects planned by Amazon and Google, respectively, over concerns including resource consumption.

India does not have a dedicated policy for the sector, which is governed by existing environmental and building rules. Some states offer their own incentives for data centre investments.

Data centres are central to the investment push of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has invited "the whole world's data to reside in India". His government sees the sector as a $200 billion opportunity.

"India is a very fertile ground for hyperscale data centres," Prasada said at an event in New Delhi organised by the government body Central Electricity Authority.

He said data centres in some countries were taking power away from consumers, who then pay more for electricity, adding: "we don't want to get into that".

Residents near Amazon's site outside Mumbai have protested over pressure on power and water supplies, as well as noise.

Environmentalists have said Google's $15 billion project in Visakhapatnam threatens wildlife and improperly uses temple land.

Google and Amazon have denied any wrongdoing, saying the concerns are unfounded because their facilities use advanced technologies to minimise resource usage.