The next phase of India’s AI journey will not be defined by ambition alone. It will be shaped by the physical economy that powers compute. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often discussed in the language of software, data, and algorithms, but every breakthrough rests on material capabilities that are easy to overlook.
AI models require uninterrupted electricity, advanced hardware that can manage heat, large-scale cooling systems, and supply chains that consistently deliver critical components.
As AI becomes larger, more compute-intensive, and more widely adopted across the economy, these infrastructure realities are moving from the margins to the centre of strategy.
It is in this context that the North East may begin to assume a strategic role in India’s AI journey.
AI Depends on What Sits Upstream
North East India’s potential reserves of minerals such as lithium, graphite, and vanadium matter not because they directly train AI models, but because they sit upstream of everything that makes those models viable.
These minerals underpin batteries, energy storage systems, and electronic components that stabilise power supply for data centres and digital infrastructure.
Without them, AI systems become fragile, expensive to operate, and difficult to scale.
As countries push to build larger models and broaden AI adoption across sectors, energy reliability is becoming a binding constraint.
Training and running modern AI systems requires massive compute and continuous uptime, and any volatility in power supply or storage capacity directly affects performance, cost, and scalability.
In this environment, access to energy-enabling resources becomes a strategic input into AI capability itself. Global competition in AI is therefore no longer determined only by who has the best engineers or the largest datasets.
It is increasingly shaped by who can secure energy, storage, and resilient infrastructure at scale.
Semiconductor shortages, energy bottlenecks, and supply chain concentration have exposed vulnerabilities in AI ecosystems that depend heavily on external inputs. For India, this reality reframes the AI challenge.
Building sovereign AI capacity is not just about models and platforms. It is also about securing the physical foundations of intelligence.
Regions that can support power generation, storage, and sustainable compute infrastructure will play a decisive role in determining where AI can grow reliably, and this is precisely where North East India enters the picture.
A New Strategic Role for the Northeast
The North East is often discussed in terms of connectivity gaps, difficult terrain, and distance from metropolitan technology hubs. Yet its strategic importance lies elsewhere.
The region’s renewable energy potential, combined with its mineral resources, positions it as a possible anchor for AI-enabling infrastructure rather than as a late-stage consumer of digital services.
This does not mean the Northeast will immediately host frontier AI research labs or train the world’s largest models. Its role is more foundational.
By supporting energy storage ecosystems, resilient power networks, and green compute infrastructure, the region can help make India’s AI expansion scalable and sustainable.
Green Data Centers and Sustainable Compute
AI growth has intensified concerns about the environmental footprint of data centres, which are rapidly becoming among the largest consumers of electricity.
As a result, governments and industry are exploring green data centres powered by renewables and supported by storage systems that ensure reliability.
North East India offers conditions that align with this shift. Hydropower and renewable energy potential, when paired with energy storage, can support data centres with lower carbon intensity while reducing pressure on already congested urban grids.
A decentralised approach to data-centre development can also improve resilience and reduce systemic risk in India’s digital infrastructure.
Regional Development Through AI Infrastructure
An infrastructure-led AI pathway also creates tangible regional development opportunities.
Investments in power systems, storage facilities, and data-centre ecosystems generate employment across construction, electrical works, operations, logistics, and maintenance.
They create demand for technical skills and open avenues for local enterprises to integrate into national technology value chains.
Over time, stronger infrastructure can enable downstream AI applications tailored to regional needs, including climate-risk modelling, disaster management, healthcare delivery in remote areas, and logistics optimisation.
This shifts the North East from being seen merely as a user of digital tools to a contributor to the backbone of India’s AI economy.
Aligning with India’s AI Ambitions
This perspective aligns with the goals of the IndiaAI Mission, which seeks to strengthen domestic AI capacity, expand compute infrastructure, and promote responsible and inclusive AI.
These objectives cannot be achieved at scale without reliable power, sustainable compute, and resilient supply chains.
An AI mission, in practice, is also an infrastructure mission. Decisions about where compute is located, how it is powered, and how energy is stored will shape India’s ability to scale AI responsibly and competitively.
The Governance Test Ahead
The opportunity, however, hinges on governance. Critical mineral development in an ecologically sensitive region demands strong environmental safeguards, transparent regulation, and meaningful community participation.
Without local value addition and careful planning, mineral extraction risks becoming extractive rather than transformative.
If managed responsibly, the North East can demonstrate a development model where advanced technology infrastructure, sustainability, and regional inclusion reinforce one another.
Powering the Next Phase of India’s AI Journey
North East India may not yet be the face of India’s AI ecosystem. But as AI becomes increasingly constrained by energy availability, infrastructure capacity, and sustainability concerns, the region’s importance is likely to grow.
The next phase of AI competitiveness will not be decided by software capability alone, but by who can secure the physical foundations on which intelligence runs.
In that future, the North East does not need to imitate existing technology hubs to matter. Its role may be quieter, but it is no less strategic.
By helping power compute, stabilise infrastructure, and enable sustainable scale, North East India could shape the foundations of India’s next AI leap.
The author is a Senior Research Associate at CUTS International and a Doctoral Fellow at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida.
