New Delhi, March 30 The government said on Monday that it had not received any concerns regarding water consumption by data centres in the country, amid questions about their potential impact on water resources.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had not reported any issues related to excessive water usage by data centres.
The minister said that the industry is adopting new approaches for improving cooling systems, enhancing water efficiency, and reducing overall energy consumption.
To minimize water usage, the industry adopts advanced cooling technologies such as direct-to-chip liquid cooling, adiabatic cooling, and immersion cooling.
The industry also deploys high-density racks to efficiently support high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads for further reduction of power and water consumption, the minister said.
To regulate and control groundwater extraction, guidelines have been issued by the Jal Shakti ministry through notifications dated September 24, 2020, and March 29, 2023, he said.
These measures, along with technological advancements, are helping improve water-use efficiency and reduce the overall water requirement of data centre operations, the minister added.
Choudhary said the government is facilitating the establishment of data centres to strengthen digital infrastructure and improve the delivery of services across sectors.
According to MeitY, data centre capacity in the country has grown from 375 MW in 2020 to over 1,500 MW in 2025.