28 August 2026
India's data center expansion displaces communities without consultation
First reported
Rest of World ran this on , a day before the next source picked it up.
- Data centers planned across India will consume water equivalent to 1.3 billion people's annual needs and electricity for 650 million people by 2030, straining local resources.
- Governments are negotiating with companies like Google and Microsoft on data center projects without consulting affected communities, landowners, or local representatives beforehand.
- Data centers create few local jobs because they are highly automated systems, yet they take farmland and create pollution while offering no direct benefit to displaced residents.
- Communities learn about projects only when construction begins, leaving no opportunity for input on whether data centers should exist in their areas at all.
How it was covered
The AlgorithmMIT Technology Review
Policymakers courting Big Tech for data centers are sidelining local communities who are being displaced. The newsletter emphasises that no one wants a data center in their backyard.
Reported by Rest of World