2 min readBengaluruMar 11, 2026 06:31 PM IST
Amid fears about the growth of data centres triggering a water crisis, Karnataka Information Technology/Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge said Wednesday that the state government would frame a sustainable data centre policy.
Kharge told the Assembly that a 1 MW data centre requires 25 million litres of water annually.
“Asking five questions on ChatGPT will use up half a litre of water… However, new technologies are being used to reduce the high water demand. This included using treated water and liquid cooling, among others. So we will have a relook into our existing data centre policy and come up with a sustainable data centre policy,” he said.
This was in response to a question by BJP MLA Dheeraj Muniraju, who urged the Government to set up a data centre park near Doddaballapur. He said that large enterprises were going to other cities owing to the lack of a dedicated park near Doddaballapur.
Kharge said that 32 private data centres were operational in the state, calling them a “necessary evil” essential for the operations of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. “Since data centres are water and energy guzzlers, we are looking at a sustainable policy,” he said.
Karnataka focuses on setting up data centres in coastal cities such as Mangaluru, where the landing of sub-sea cables for data transmission is possible, the minister said.
“We have also communicated with the Ministry of Telecom, which has assured cooperation,” Kharge said, adding that the Government was working to have more data centres in the state.
The Government is looking at small, medium, and large data centres operating at 40 MW capacity, he added.
