India is developing new data centers to secure a foothold in the global A.I. race. Our South Asia bureau chief, Mujib Mashal, discusses how a new Google campus’s potential use of the region’s already strained energy and water resources is creating anxiety among local residents.

With India lagging in the technology, officials are embracing giant data centers. But critics say the megaprojects will use up energy and water, without providing long-term jobs.