Google's planned $15 billion data center hub in India — pitched as a creator of 188,000 jobs — is facing mounting opposition from environmental activists who have taken their fight to the streets and the courts, Reuters reports.
The project in Visakhapatnam, a city on India's southeastern coast, has drawn protests over its use of water in a region already under stress, as well as concerns about wildlife and noise. Google is pushing ahead with the complex as part of a broader multibillion-dollar push into India, one of the world's fastest-growing digital markets.
Protesters fear the campus will strain local water supplies and harm the surrounding environment, and opposition has moved into the legal arena as activists challenge the project's approvals. The dispute highlights a growing global tension: the water and energy hunger of AI data centers is colliding with local communities and ecosystems.
For Google, India is both a huge opportunity and a delicate environment. The company has framed the investment as a boost for the country's digital economy, but the protests show that even the most welcome foreign investment can face local friction once it lands in a specific place.
