Data Centres Current Affairs for UPSC

The Union Cabinet has approved Semicon 2.0, the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM 2.0), with a total outlay of ₹1,27,500 crore to build India's semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem on six pillars. Media reports indicate the Centre will not subsidise land acquisition or technology transfer costs under the new scheme, with states expected to take the lead on land, and capital subsidies for silicon fabs reduced from 50% to 40%. This article explains what semiconductors are, the achievements of ISM 1.0, the six pillars of Semicon 2.0, the revised incentive structure, the role of states, India's chip targets for 2029 and 2035, and the challenges ahead — all from the UPSC Prelims and Mains perspective.

The Gujarat government has announced the Viksit Gujarat Data Centre Policy 2026-29, targeting investments of about ₹6 lakh crore and the creation of 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of data centre capacity — claimed to be the highest in the country. The policy offers tax and duty exemptions, power and water guarantees and building-norm relaxations, mandates that 51% of electricity for core operations come from green energy, and seeks to develop Dholera as a global data centre city. This article explains what data centres and hyperscale AI data centres are, the policy's incentives, the Reliance-Meta Jamnagar project, India's data centre landscape, and the associated energy, water and policy challenges.

The Union Cabinet on 15 July 2026 approved Semicon 2.0, the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission, with a total outlay of ₹1,27,500 crore to build a complete semiconductor ecosystem across six pillars. The Cabinet also cleared the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) worth ₹62,500 crore as the successor to the PLI scheme for smartphones. This article explains what semiconductors are, the journey of ISM 1.0, the six pillars of Semicon 2.0, the incentive structure of MPMS, India's mobile manufacturing success story, approved chip plants and their locations, and the challenges ahead.

A recent Indian Express interview with lawyer and anthropologist Petra Molnar discussed the AI Resist List and warned that AI-led growth narratives can hide issues of invisible labour, data extraction, surveillance, digital infrastructure and democratic accountability. The debate is significant for India as it expands the IndiaAI Mission, data centres, AI compute capacity and digital public infrastructure.