Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping economies, industries and jobs. India too, with its Viksit Bharat vision for 2047[1], is positioning itself as a global AI powerhouse. Supported by the National Program on Artificial Intelligence under the Digital India Mission[2], the country aims to accelerate AI adoption across digital governance, healthcare, manufacturing and education.

However, this AI expansion carries a significant energy cost. Since training and deploying AI models is computationally intensive, the data centers powering them are among the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand. According to NITI Aayog, India’s Information and Technology load is expected to grow at approximately 12% per annum between 2030-2047, driven by AI integration. It is projected to further grow at 6% per annum between 2047-2070.[3] Understanding what this means for India's energy system is critical, especially given the country’s climate commitments.

In this context, IIT Tirupati and WRI India are co-organizing a hybrid workshop that brings together researchers, academicians, think tanks, industries and organizations working at the intersection of AI, data infrastructure, energy systems and sustainability.

The workshop will enable participants to:

  • Discuss approaches to quantify energy and the environmental footprint of data centres, associated data challenges, uncertainties in the Indian context and the scope and limitations of existing energy models.
  • Explore methodologies for estimating electricity demand from data centers in India.
  • Review existing energy modeling frameworks and explore opportunities to integrate data center demand into these models.
  • Assess the resource implications of the growth in data centres, including impacts on critical minerals for battery storage, water usage, and energy requirements.