If I tell you to think about ₹1 lakh crore vs ₹1 trillion vs ₹10,00,00,00,00,000, which one would you imagine to be bigger? It shouldn’t matter, but when Business Standard and others report “Adani proposes 1 trillion rupee investment in Odisha for AI data centre” it kinda raised my eyebrows.

Adani Group proposes ₹1,00,000 crore investment into 1 GW data centre in Odisha. And they are seeking 250 acres of land to build the data centre. This proposal is said to be under the State Government’s evaluation, which means it is all but approved (I mean, come on. It’s Adani).

This proposed investment is comparable to Google’s $10 billion pledge to build its 1 GW data centre near Vizag in Andhra. At today’s exchange rate, that works out to roughly ₹96,000 crore. With Adani’s backing as well, the company is likely to end up building twice the AI data centre capacity that Ambani is currently putting together.

It’s worth remembering that Adani had already announced plans to invest $100 billion by 2035 in renewable energy-powered, hyperscale, AI-ready data centres. The group already runs one data centre in Chennai through a joint venture with Sweden’s EQT-owned EdgeConneX, and it is also developing facilities in Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad.

This is not the first data centre related investment in Odisha announced recently. Zoho is also building a large data centre complex. HCL announced investments just last week. The Government itself is building data centres in Odisha.

So, on Adani’s proposal. My question is not going to be where is the money coming from (although that’s a valid question to ask). My question is…. why? AI Data Centres is in high demand now, but the AI bubble is going to burst (btw one of my followers recommend this video which I’d recommend to EVERYONE). So why are Adani, Ambani, HCL and everyone with more than a bag of money building data centres?

Is it a giant ponzi scheme? Yes it is. Is it bad for all of us? Yes, yes it is.

AI on its own is great. AI has immense potential, is using to better the sciences, advance industry, make workplaces safer, and more. The AI industry though, bad.

Companies saying they are selling the future are just greedy. Companies that replaced employees with AI are rotting from the inside. Big tech has been trying to shove AI in our faces now and as a result the internet is progressively ruined for the average consumer.

And data centres – we need to keep talking about the environmental impacts it has on society. Data centres – especially 1GW ones – bring all sorts of pollution. Noise pollution for residents. Diverting water resources away from residential and industrial uses. Damage to nearby soil. Damage to air quality. And those are just the short term impacts.

Deep down, I hope the Odisha State Government rejects this proposal. But since that is unlikely, and the project will be approved, I hope residents of Cuttack (where apparently the data centre proejct is earmarked for) stage a protest, the way residents of Thane did against Amazon. And at a national level, what is really needed but sadly unlikely for now is a nationwide moratorium on data centre projects.

We welcomed a few data centre projects. We already welcomed too many. We should not be the playground for international tech bros to make money, at the expense of our quality of living. If our people don’t have a good environment to live in, we should not allow a few individuals or business houses to make money renting data centre capacity to Google or Meta or whoever.

Headlines:

• IT Ministry has summoned Meta’s global head of public policy over the removal of PM Modi’s Facebook post addressing the youth. According to sources, the ministry has sought an explanation from Meta over the removal of the post, which was published on July 23 during the student protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party. And now, BJP is demanding an apology from Meta. Meta has however assured the government that it set up enhanced oversight protocols and multiple senior reviews for high-profile accounts like the Prime Minister’s. Lol.
• WhatsApp Pay overtakes CRED in UPI volumes in June. Kunal Shah would probably be happy either way.
• Sarvam announced a new office in San Francisco. And launches Sarvam Code, a rival to Claude Code and others. Hope they make enough money to pay rent in SF.
• Zepto put IPO plans on hold, to re-attempt in 2027. Unclear why.
• Flipkart teams up with Netflix in which Flipkart Plus subscribers get free subscription of Netflix Mobile. But I read the fine print so you don’t get carried away: it’s 480p content only, and you need to place atleast four orders on Flipkart a month. So, yeah.
• Zoho’s Arattai just got some updates -Optional Aadhaar verification to reduce fake accounts and spam, Verified badge, Refreshed chat interface, animated emojis and new stickers. Coming soon are reportedly Arattai Business and UPI payments.
• Bangalore restaurants set August 15th deadline for Swiggy and Zomato over concerns its associations (particularly the Bangalore Hotel Association) raised on discounts, promotions and payout deductions. But talks between the associations and food delivery platforms are ongoing.

A Bit More on AI This Week

Anthropic and OpenAI models are hacking away. Really, both ChatGPT and Claude have in separate instances broken out of sandboxes to autonomously hack into other systems, like how an OpenAI model hacked Hugging Face the previous week. This is…. concerning.

Btw, the EU has passed its brand new AI Act effective this week, which enhances AI transparency requirements. Sort of. The most important part is that AI generated content must be clearly labeled as such, which India passed in its new IT Rules of 2025. But unlike India, the EU now has a European Artificial Intelligence Office.

This Week’s Find

This book is great book to gift people who think the USA is the greatest country in the world.