Vizag data center is a big challenge

Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and others are seen during the foundation stone laying ceremony of Google Cloud India AI Hub in Visakhapatnam on April 28, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI

TThe Google Cloud India artificial intelligence center for which the tech giant and Andhra Pradesh recently broke ground in Visakhapatnam is a sign that India is finally moving from providing IT services and coding to owning the infrastructure. While the facility is part of a larger digital infrastructure effort in Visakhapatnam that is expected to involve investments of up to ₹1.25 crore, there are numerous second-order gains on the horizon as well. The facility could boost downstream demand for high-end computing hardware and bolster India’s efforts to build semiconductor capacity under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programs, although the viability of manufacturing will still depend on broader ecosystem factors.

The project has been incorporated into the America-India Connect initiative, which will see several international submarine cables land in Visakhapatnam, creating India’s second major gateway to the east coast. As a result, Indian data will have a direct connection from the East Coast to South Africa and from there to the US without first being transferred to Cochin, also via Google’s high-capacity cables. Similarly in the east, data from Visakhapatnam can reach the US via Singapore and Australia, no longer limited to the Chennai-Singapore link and then to the US via third-party cables. As a result, India’s dependence on geopolitical stability in the Red Sea, through which cables from Mumbai pass before reaching Europe, will be reduced. Similarly, in India, the location of the hub could shift high-value technology activities away from expensive metropolitan cities, potentially redistributing growth.

Infrastructure problem

The Hub is an integrated complex with computing infrastructure and high-capacity data connectivity and large power requirements. Its expected power consumption of 1 GW makes it a so-called hyperscale hub with the ability to run powerful artificial intelligence (AI) models.

But it is also a gateway to consider the not inconsiderable challenges that the project presents. For example, the center could attract firms handling sensitive data, particularly in industries where legal or regulatory preferences favor keeping data in India. Although Google will reduce costs for Indian companies, it will increase dependence on the proprietary package of a single foreign provider. As a result, India could become a place for “sovereign AI” — as Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian put it — in name only.

Second, while AI GPU workloads are among the world’s most demanding uses of computing infrastructure, the Hub suggests that AI is now an infrastructure problem: energy, land and water are the bottleneck. The demand for electricity can strain the local grid and result in a ripple effect for local residents and industry. While Google has promised 100% renewable energy use, the Hub will still feature a fleet of backup diesel generators that will affect the local air quality and microclimate.

If Google is aiming to maintain a global average energy efficiency of 1.1 in Visakhapatnam’s humid weather, it may need water-intensive evaporative cooling. The district is regularly vulnerable to water shortages, especially in summer. It depends heavily on water transfers between basins to meet its needs. In fact, it has the lowest groundwater levels for domestic, agricultural or industrial use in the state, according to the Water Resources Management and Information System. Hub-like facilities around the world are known to use over 2 million liters per day per 100MW. At 1 GW, the stated consumption is an incredible 20 million liters per day.

Human rights groups argued that the state government had classified the project to allow it to bypass a full environmental impact assessment and public hearings — measures that prompted Google et al. in other countries to redesign data centers to be more sustainable. India is still trying to harmonize incentives at the state level. Andhra Pradesh offers aggressive tax holidays and electricity subsidies, but has not come with green benchmarks or “green” capacity targets. A central single window could standardize public hearings and resource accounting. If India does not codify these safeguards, its rise to digital will come at the expense of its ecological and democratic foundations.

mukunth.v@thehindu.co.in

Published – 02 Jun 2026 0:51 IST