印度数据中心产业正在快速增长，但这一扩张正与日益紧张的水资源供应产生冲突。印度305个数据中心去年消耗约1.5亿吨水，预计到2030年这一数字将翻倍[1]。同时，该国数据中心容量已从2020年的375兆瓦增长至2025年的1500兆瓦[1]。然而，超过半数数据中心位于水资源紧张地区[1]，其中加济阿巴德等地的地下水开采量已达建议开采值的272%[1]。
当地居民因此面临供水短缺。以Khora地区为例，居民每月需支付1000至1200卢比（约10.5至12.5美元）才能使用共享水井[1]，而打口新水井的成本约为50万卢比（约5250美元）[1]。为解决数据中心需求与水资源矛盾，Uttar Pradesh州2026年的数据中心政策草案承诺为数据中心提供"24小时不间断"供水[1]。但业界指出，印度目前缺乏透明的监管机制和强制披露要求，与欧盟要求超过500千瓦数据中心必须披露水消耗数据的规定形成鲜明对比[1]，这使得数据中心与居民供水之间的资源竞争问题难以有效监督。
India's rapidly expanding data center industry is intensifying water scarcity in already drought-stressed areas, creating competition between commercial facilities and local residents. The 305 data centers operating across the country consumed approximately 150 million tons of water last year, with projections to double by 2030 [1]. Data center capacity has surged from 375 megawatts in 2020 to 1,500 megawatts by 2025, yet over half of these facilities are located in water-stressed regions [1].
The strain is particularly acute in Ghaziabad and surrounding areas of the National Capital Region, where groundwater extraction has reached 272 percent of recommended sustainable levels [1]. Meanwhile, residents in communities like Khora pay between 1,000 to 1,200 rupees ($10.50 to $12.50) monthly to access shared hand pumps, with individual well construction costing approximately 500,000 rupees ($5,250) [1].
Despite these pressures, India's regulatory framework remains weak. Uttar Pradesh's draft 2026 data center policy commits to providing data centers with round-the-clock uninterrupted water supply [1], yet the country lacks mandatory water disclosure requirements that exist elsewhere—the European Union, for instance, requires all data centers exceeding 500 kilowatts to publicly report water consumption [1]. This absence of transparency and enforcement mechanisms has created a governance gap as data center operators and residents compete for increasingly scarce water resources.