Lok Sabha Question No. 3903 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-16
Subject: Power usage Effectiveness Standards
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Rao Rajendra Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3903

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026

## Power usage Effectiveness Standards

## 3903.  SHRI RAO RAJENDRA SINGH:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- a) whether mandatory Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) standards have been established for data centres, if so, the details thereof;
2. (b) whether Green Building certifications (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Indian  Green  Building  Council)  are  being  mandated  or  incentivised  for  new  data  centre construction and if so, the details thereof;
3. (c)  the  details  of  water  efficiency  standards  being  applied  to  prevent  over-consumption  in water-stressed regions; and
4. (d)  whether environmental impact bonds or performance-linked carbon offset programmes are available for data centre operators and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a)-(c) The Government of India is continuously encouraging data centre providers to adopt sustainable technologies resulting in betterment of Power Usage Efficiency (PUE). The Bureau of  Energy  Efficiency  (BEE),  Ministry  of  Power,  has  established  norms  and  standards  for efficient electricity consumption in data centres mentioned in Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC 2017), published under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. ECBC addresses requirements for energy utilization in chillers Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC), Air Handling Units (AHU) Fans etc.

The  Indian  Green  Building  Council  (IGBC)  certification  of  data  centres  is  governed  by professionally administered  certification  frameworks,  and  the  decision  to obtain  such certification rest with the data centre developers.

The water requirement depends on the type of cooling mechanism data centre deploys. The data centre industry is adopting advanced cooling technologies such as direct-to-chip liquid cooling, adiabatic cooling, immersion cooling etc.

Industry  is  also  deploying  high  density  racks  to  efficiently  support  high-performance computing & AI workloads for further reduction of power and water consumption.

(d) The activities of the Building Construction Projects and Township and Area Development Projects are covered under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 as amended. The applicable projects are required to obtain Environmental Clearance (EC). The ECs are granted based on the Technical Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) recommendations. Various  specific  and  standard  conditions  are  required  to  be  complied  with  by  the  Project Proponents including the concept of passive solar design that minimize energy consumption in buildings  by  using  design  elements,  such  as  building  orientation,  landscaping,  efficient building envelope, appropriate fenestration, increased day lighting design and thermal mass etc.

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