5 questions on ChatGPT require 500ml of water: Priyank

Bengaluru: Responding to criticism that a Google data centre project had moved to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh instead of Bengaluru, IT-BT minister Priyank Kharge said the neighbouring state had offered substantial subsidies."Everyone talks about Google moving to Visakhapatnam, but no one speaks about the cost at which it has gone there. The AP got has given a subsidy of Rs 22,000 crore for the Google project. The land subsidy is 25 per cent. They have offered a Re 1 reduction in power tariff per unit for 15 years, a 10 per cent GST exemption for 10 years, 100 per cent exemption on stamp duty, and a 10 per cent capital subsidy on plant and machinery. The number of jobs being generated is only about 1,500," he said. He explained the scale of resources required for data centres. "Data centres are extremely power-sensitive. For a one-megawatt plant, we require around Rs 70 crore. In one acre of land, only a one-megawatt plant can be set up. We also need about 25 million litres of water per megawatt every year to run a data centre," he said. "If one asks five questions on ChatGPT, about 500 ml of water is consumed. That is the scale of consumption. Now, with new technology, companies are using liquid cooling and treated water."Replying to Dheeraj Muniraju in the assembly, Priyank said the govt would review the state's data centre policy, which was introduced three years ago, to align it with recent developments in the sector. He said Karnataka ranked first in the IT sector but stood fifth when it came to data centres. According to the minister, 32 data centres are currently operating privately in Karnataka "The data centres required huge quantities of water and power and hence the coastal region is suitable for it," he said, adding that the state had written to the Centre seeking a subsea cable for the coastal region. According to him, the Centre has assured cooperation if private firms come forward to establish it. That is why we will relook at our policy and come up with a sustainable data centre policy," he added. Priyank also ruled out hyperscale data centres for Bengaluru due to resource constraints.