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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesNITI Aayog’s Data Centre Evaluation Framework to Help States Plan for Sustainable Growth, published on 14 October 2026, asks State authorities to verify electricity, water and site readiness before clearing data-centre proposals. The framework covers a project from site selection through commissioning and operations, but it is guidance rather than a new, uniform regulatory layer.
What the framework changes
Developed by the NITI Frontier Tech Hub with experts and stakeholders, the framework gives States a common way to weigh investment against infrastructure limits, economic value and long-term sustainability. It does not replace State approval processes or prescribe one national approval route. Instead, States can attach conditions to project milestones and assign each condition to the entity responsible for delivering it.
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The approach is organised around five pillars:
| Pillar | What States are expected to examine |
|---|---|
| Power and energy | Firm supply, grid capacity, construction of substations and a credible ramp-up schedule |
| Water and cooling | Long-term, seasonal availability and fit-for-use demand for the selected cooling system |
| Siting and environmental sustainability | Climate, ecological, land-use, pollution and community risks |
| Economic and strategic value | Net contribution after infrastructure costs, incentives and public support |
| Policy, governance and implementation | Clear responsibilities, milestones, monitoring and enforcement |
Power approval must include a ramp-up plan
Before approval, the developer, the local distribution company (DISCOM) and the State Transmission Utility should jointly validate a Power Readiness and Ramp-up Plan. The plan is intended to prevent a project from receiving approval for a headline capacity that the grid cannot deliver when each phase comes online.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallAt minimum, the plan should set out:
- Total campus demand, built capacity and expected utilisation.
- Sanctioned megawatts and year-by-year energisation targets.
- Required substations, transmission links and any grid augmentation.
- Firm supply, captive generation, open-access purchases and backup arrangements.
- Delivery milestones, funding sources and the allocation of upgrade costs.
Renewable-power and storage commitments should be contracted or formally approved and capable of being delivered by the relevant capacity milestone. A State can therefore make energisation or expansion conditional on evidence that the associated grid and supply work is complete.
Water review looks beyond a site’s first phase
States are asked to test surface-water, groundwater, municipal and treated-water availability against allocation priorities and existing users. Demand models must match the proposed cooling technology and local conditions, including peak-summer demand and temperatures of approximately 40°C where that reflects the site.
Recycled or treated non-potable water can reduce the counted freshwater requirement only when the supply is contracted, physically connected and available by the commissioning milestone. A paper commitment that cannot reach the campus at start-up should not be treated as delivered capacity.
The recommended State-level exercise is a 20–30 year seasonal catchment water balance. It should account for surface water, groundwater, municipal supply, treated wastewater and competing demand, especially agriculture. This makes drought exposure and the effect on existing users part of the approval decision rather than an issue discovered after expansion.
Siting, climate and community safeguards
Before construction, authorities should examine forward-looking flood, cyclone, seismic, heat, coastal and ecological risks. The review also covers practical effects on nearby communities and public systems, including water use, traffic, roads, drainage, emissions, noise, waste, emergency access, land use and local employment.
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Large campuses may receive proportionate community-benefit requirements. States should also require lifecycle plans covering electronic waste, batteries, hazardous waste, diesel systems, IT-asset disposition, recycling and eventual decommissioning. These requirements extend the assessment beyond construction and initial operation.
Documents and planning horizons
The framework recommends a minimum approval file that lets reviewers see both current readiness and the consequences of later expansion.
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Site-readiness record | Shows land-use, grid, water, fibre, rights-of-way and clearance headroom for the next 10–15 years |
| Climate-risk assessment | Identifies hazards and resilience measures over the facility’s life |
| Community-impact assessment, where warranted | Documents effects on residents and public infrastructure |
| Readiness-gap register | Names each unresolved gap, its responsible entity and completion date |
| Lifecycle and decommissioning plan | Sets out waste, equipment disposition, recycling and closure actions |
| PUE, WUE and CUE documents | Defines designed power, water and carbon-efficiency performance |
Economic tests and who is accountable
States are encouraged to compare a project’s net economic contribution with the public cost of land, infrastructure, electricity-duty and stamp-duty concessions, utilities and capital support. The analysis should distinguish colocation, built-to-suit, powered-shell, cloud, Compute as a Service, GPU as a Service and managed-hosting models, because their loads, ownership and local value differ.
Incentives should be tied to measurable outcomes rather than announced capacity alone. Approval conditions can be assigned, as applicable, to the facility or IT owner, workload controller, customer counterparty, data fiduciary or processor, regulated entity, compute controller or incentive recipient. That allocation is intended to make monitoring and enforcement practical when several parties share a campus.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is this a new environmental clearance?
No. A 2026 Press Information Bureau answer states that “AI Data Centres do not, per se, require Environmental Clearance (EC) under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, as amended.” That statement does not remove other approvals or environmental duties.
Where a project falls within applicable building-project appraisal, State environmental authorities still consider freshwater availability, water-balance reports, greywater generation, and greywater recycling and reuse. The NITI Aayog framework therefore adds a common readiness lens for States; it does not itself create an extra, nationwide EC category.
How to assess a proposed project
For a State policy or a specific campus, the most useful comparison is not the advertised IT load. Review these measures together:
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- Firm power available when each phase is scheduled to energise.
- Net freshwater demand, cooling assumptions and designed WUE.
- Contracted recycled-water share and safeguards for drought periods.
- Grid, fibre, land and rights-of-way headroom through the planned expansion period.
- Climate, ecological and community exposure.
- Economic value after subtracting incentives and public infrastructure costs.
- Named responsibility for every condition, with monitoring dates and consequences for delay.
The practical result is a staged approval test: a proposal must show that electricity and water can be delivered when needed, that expansion will not overwhelm local systems, and that environmental, community and economic obligations have owners. States retain discretion over how they implement those tests, consistent with the framework’s stated aim of common decision support rather than a uniform additional regulation.
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