India plans data centre policy to protect consumers from higher electricity costs

India is rolling out a policy for data centres, a minister said on Wednesday, saying the government wants to keep consumers from paying more for electricity as the sector's power use draws concern worldwide.

The move follows protests by residents in cities such as Mumbai and Visakhapatnam against data centres planned by Amazon and Google over concerns including water and electricity use.

India does not have a dedicated policy for the sector, which is approved under existing environmental and building rules, with some states offering their own incentives.

Junior IT minister Jitin Prasada, who made the Wednesday announcement, did not elaborate on what the policy would cover or when it would be unveiled.

Data centres are central to the investment pitch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has invited "the whole world's data to reside in India".

Modi's government sees the sector as a $200 billion opportunity.

"India is a very fertile ground for hyperscale data centres," Prasada said, speaking at a New Delhi event organised by the government body Central Electricity Authority.

He said data centres in some countries were taking power away from consumers, who then pay more for electricity, and "we don't want to get into that."

Residents near Amazon's site outside Mumbai have protested over strain on power and water and over noise, and environmentalists say Google's $15 billion Visakhapatnam project threatens wildlife and improperly uses temple land.

Google and Amazon have denied any wrongdoing and say the concerns are unfounded as their facilities use advanced technologies to minimise resource usage.