Centre plans data centre policy amid power cost concerns
In short
India said on Wednesday that it is preparing a new policy for data centres. Jitin Prasada said it is meant to deal with electricity use and protect people from higher power bills.
The plan comes after protests in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam over planned Amazon and Google data centres. It is not yet clear when the policy will come out or what rules it will have.
What the reporting says
The Centre said it is preparing a data centre policy on Wednesday, with IT minister of state Jitin Prasada citing concerns over electricity consumption and consumer power bills. The move follows protests in cities such as Mumbai and Visakhapatnam against planned Amazon and Google data centres over water, electricity and environmental worries. The reporting does not state when the policy will be released or what measures it will include.
Why it matters
The Centre is preparing a data centre policy after local protests linked to planned Amazon and Google projects in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. The concern in the reporting is that data centres may use large amounts of water and electricity, which could affect consumer power bills. The immediate policy details, timing and enforcement framework are not stated.