Dr. Aakansha Natani gave a seminar talk on The New ‘Critical’ Infrastructure: Data Centres and the Evolving Policy Landscape  in India’s Digital Economy on 1 June at the University of Hamburg. Here is the summary of her talk:

India’s data centre sector is in the midst of rapid expansion with capacity projected to grow five times by 2030, billions in foreign investment flowing in, and the state formally designating this infrastructure as ‘critical’ to the digital economy. The policy landscape is actively evolving, shaping the terms on which this expansion unfolds, and important questions related to risk, intent and sustainability remain a work in progress. This talk offers a close look at India’s emerging data infrastructure policy landscape – what is being built, what is being written, and what is still waiting to be addressed.

Dr. Aakansha Natani is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Informatics, University of Hamburg, undertaking a two-month research stay focused on AI and data governance in the European Union.

June 2026