Zoho CEO says India must prioritise sustainable, energy-efficient AI amid global data centre surge

As the United States grapples with soaring electricity prices driven by the rapid expansion of AI data centres, Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu has called for India to adopt a more sustainable path in its pursuit of artificial intelligence.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Vembu weighed in on the growing political and environmental debate surrounding AI infrastructure.

He noted that the construction boom of data centres across America had become such a significant issue that President Donald Trump has urged major tech companies to act responsibly in their energy use.  

Electricity prices going up due to AI data center construction across America has become a big enough political issue that President Trump is asking Big Tech to be responsible in their data center plans and Microsoft has pledged to cooperate.

Meanwhile, sustainability has…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 14, 2026

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Vembu criticised the global technology industry for sidelining sustainability in its race to lead the AI revolution. “Sustainability has disappeared from the Big Tech vocabulary in the rush to AI,” he wrote, arguing that the sector’s previous commitments to tackling climate change were “virtue-signalling, nothing more.”

India has no option but to be energy-efficient: Vembu

Turning his attention to India, Vembu said the country could not afford to follow the same energy-hungry approach as the West. “In India, we have no option but to seek an energy-efficient, sustainable approach to AI, and I believe that is possible,” he said, adding that environmental responsibility should not be reduced to political posturing.

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“I don’t view climate change as a political issue, but as part of the broader question of how humanity can live in harmony with nature,” he added.  

Vembu’s comments come at a time when artificial intelligence adoption is accelerating across industries, pushing up electricity demand worldwide.

Training and deploying large AI models, which power everything from chatbots to image generators, takes place in vast data centres that consume immense quantities of energy for both computing and cooling.

India’s AI data centre load

The International Energy Agency estimates that a typical AI-focused data centre uses as much electricity as 1,00,000 households. The largest ones currently being built could consume up to 20 times more.

India is now facing a sharp increase in its own energy demand from data infrastructure. According to Unaise Urfi, Partner at KPMG India, the country’s total data centre load is set to jump from 1.2 gigawatts in 2024 to 4.5 GW by 2030, largely driven by AI and digital expansion.

AI-specific data centres alone could require an additional 40–50 terawatt-hours (TWh) of power annually by the end of the decade.

This growth must be viewed against the backdrop of India’s broader energy mix. As of July 2025, India’s installed power capacity stood at about 490 GW, with fossil fuels accounting for 49.7 per cent and non-fossil sources slightly higher at 50.3 per cent.

Renewables, including hydro, made up 48.5 percent of the total, while solar contributed a substantial 119 GW, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority.

S&P Global Commodity Insights predicts that India will soon overtake Japan and Australia to become Asia-Pacific’s second-largest market for data centre electricity consumption within two years.

Microsoft steps up amid rising scrutiny

Meanwhile, in the US, Microsoft has agreed to shoulder the financial burden of its soaring electricity bills tied to AI operations, a move seen as an attempt to ease political and public criticism. The tech giant, one of the biggest players in AI computing, has faced growing scrutiny over the environmental footprint of its data centres.

By committing to pay directly for its increased energy use, Microsoft is signalling its willingness to take responsibility for the strain AI places on the power grid.