Govt says BIS norms for data centres, cloud and AI will boost uniformity

Centre says new voluntary BIS standards for data centres, cloud systems and AI ethics will help prevent low-quality imports, align India with global norms

The introduction of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms for data centre performance, cloud computing, and AI ethics--though voluntary--will provide a framework to monitor the standard of products being imported into India to fulfil the demand in these sectors, a senior government official said.

 

The standards come alongside the Union Budget 2026–27’s tax holiday for data centres, signalling a broader government push to accelerate investments in digital infrastructure while setting benchmarks for the rapidly expanding cloud and AI ecosystem.

 

The government notification, dated February 25, throws light on the common definitions of cloud systems, introduce performance metrics for data centres and ethical standards for AI system design. All of these will be important to create the bedrock for the AI expansion programmes by the centre.

   

“These are nascent sectors with still a lot of scope for growth. These voluntary standards will function as a benchmark for the industry to adhere to and ensure that low-quality products do not seep in," an official, who did not wish to be named, said.

 

The notifications are part of Sub-rule (1) of Rule 15 of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) 2018. The aim is to align the rules with ISO and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

 

The rules will be important at a time when the government is expecting massive investments, upwards of $250 billion, for the infrastructure layer of the AI architecture. Out of that almost $80 billion has already been committed for data centre expansion by the hyperscalers such as Google, Amaon and Microsoft.

 

Considering the rapid expansion scenario, industry executives says it makes sense to bring in certain standardization of norms to ensure the country is aligned at a global level.

 

A second government official, however, said that introducing quality control orders or rules for such products at this stage could be counterproductive, given that the domestic production of these goods and services is still growing.

 

“India’s move to standardize cloud, data center and ethical AI frameworks (aligned with global ISO standards) is a strong enabler for enterprise AI adoption. Clear regulations reduce ambiguity around compliance, security and performance, helping organizations move from pilots to scale,” Shailendra Katyal, managing director of Lenovo India and site leader, Lenovo Group, said.

 

Sunil Gupta, CEO of Yotta Data Services, believes India needs to have its own standardizations with a hybrid approach which is aligned to global rules.

 

“The government is trying to give the message that instead of following ten standards, it is better to weigh everybody on one, which brings uniformity and clarity. It will also help the country align to global quality while tweaking it according to country specific requirements,” he said.