Explainer: What’s driving the rush for data centres

THE RISING USAGE of artificial intelligence (AI), surging data traffic, data localisation and lower latency needs have all triggered a big demand for data centres. Data centres essentially house computer servers, information technology (IT) infrastructure and network equipment to power everything from ChatGPT queries to electric vehicles and streaming services. India now boasts 276 data centres and ranks seventh in the world just behind France and Canada, according to market research firm Datacentermap.