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By:

Naresh Kamath

5 November 2024 at 5:30:38 am

Indian Tourists Need a Reputation Reset

India has long taken pride in the philosophy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ - the belief that guests deserve warmth, respect and dignity. It is an idea deeply woven into the country’s cultural imagination, often been projected as a defining Indian value. As millions of Indians travel overseas every year, the conduct of a small but highly visible section of Indian tourists is increasingly shaping how India itself is perceived abroad. The issue is not about a single incident or a handful of viral...

Indian Tourists Need a Reputation Reset

India has long taken pride in the philosophy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ - the belief that guests deserve warmth, respect and dignity. It is an idea deeply woven into the country’s cultural imagination, often been projected as a defining Indian value. As millions of Indians travel overseas every year, the conduct of a small but highly visible section of Indian tourists is increasingly shaping how India itself is perceived abroad. The issue is not about a single incident or a handful of viral videos but a pattern that is drawing notice from hotels, tourism operators and local authorities across the world. The debate gained fresh momentum after reports emerged of a Swiss hotel issuing a notice specifically addressed to Indian guests. The advisory reportedly requested guests not to pack food from breakfast buffets for later consumption and reminded them to maintain silence in corridors and balconies. Hotels routinely issue guidelines. But when a particular nationality becomes the subject of a specific advisory, it inevitably raises larger questions about perception. “It is a sorry state of affairs. Indians, especially in groups, are displaying atrocious behaviour. This was anyway bound to happen,” says Subhash Motwani, founder of Namaste Tourism. Embarrassing Incidents Whether the notice was justified is another separate matter. The question is why such perceptions are emerging in the first place. Recent months have seen several incidents involving Indian tourists gain traction on social media. One widely circulated video showed travellers performing garba on an airport tarmac in Vietnam. Garba is among India’s most vibrant cultural traditions and a source of immense pride for millions. Yet airports are highly regulated spaces where safety protocols and discipline take precedence over celebration. The incident became symbolic of a larger problem. The rise of social media has encouraged some travellers to treat foreign destinations as stages for content creation. Public dancing, loud celebrations, disruptive behaviour and attention-seeking stunts may generate views and engagement online, but they can also leave lasting impressions on locals and fellow tourists. India is hardly the first country to confront such a challenge. During the 1950s and 1960s, American tourists acquired a reputation for arrogance abroad, giving rise to the phrase “Ugly American.” Britain spent decades dealing with the international embarrassment caused by football hooliganism. China faced similar concerns as outbound tourism surged during the early years of the twenty-first century. A nation’s image is shaped not just by its economic achievements and diplomatic influence but also by the behaviour of its citizens overseas. India today finds itself in a similar situation. Indian tourists are now among the most visible traveller groups across Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. This is, in many ways, a remarkable success story. However, with visibility comes responsibility. Hospitality professionals across destinations frequently point to recurring concerns. Excessive noise, queue-jumping, disregard for local regulations, overcrowding hotel rooms and attempts to bypass established rules through jugaad are among the complaints often cited. Collectively, repeated experiences can create lasting perceptions. The most revealing aspect of the debate is that Indian travellers often display exemplary discipline in countries known for strict law enforcement. In destinations such as Singapore, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, compliance with rules is generally high. Complaints tend to emerge more frequently in places perceived as relaxed or lenient. That suggests the challenge is not one of awareness. Most travellers understand the rules perfectly well. The problem is often a mindset that rules can be negotiated when consequences appear unlikely. Changing that mindset is far more important than introducing additional regulations or issuing fresh advisories. Every interaction at an airport, hotel, restaurant, tourist attraction or public transport system contributes to how a country is viewed. These everyday encounters often shape perceptions more powerfully than government campaigns or tourism advertisements. As India stakes its claim to a larger role in the world, its citizens must recognise that national prestige is shaped not only by economic achievements and diplomatic successes, but also by everyday behaviour abroad. The overwhelming majority of Indian tourists travel responsibly and leave behind positive impressions. Their conduct rarely becomes news because courtesy seldom goes viral. Yet a handful of highly visible incidents can overshadow thousands of positive experiences. The challenge is to encourage responsible travel and a greater awareness that behaviour abroad carries consequences beyond the individual. The conduct of Indian citizens overseas should reflect the confidence and values of a nation seeking not merely recognition but enduring respect. (The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)

The Thirst Behind the Cloud

As Maharashtra positions itself at the centre of India’s AI revolution, water security is emerging as an uncomfortable constraint.

AI generated image
AI generated image

The digital economy is often referred to as weightless. Streaming video from a smartphone. An artificial intelligence chatbot answers a question. A financial transaction takes only seconds to complete. A cloud server that contains millions of files. The average user views the internet as almost immaterial, in some virtual realm, without the physical constraints that traditional industries are subject to. But there is a vast physical infrastructure behind every click, search query, and AI-generated answer. They store data, process transactions, run cloud computing services and, increasingly, run the artificial intelligence systems that governments and corporations are racing to implement.

 

Maharashtra is emerging as the prime destination in India for this infrastructure. Global technology corporations and data center operators have invested billions of dollars in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pune. Its strategic location in the state, strong connectivity for telecommunications, access to undersea cable networks and proximity to India’s financial capital make it an ideal hub for digital infrastructure. But with Maharashtra gearing up for a data centre boom, there is an important question yet to be answered: where will the water come from? The answer could decide whether the state’s digital ambitions can be sustained for decades to come.

 

Unused Potential 

Data centers use huge amounts of electricity and that has drawn the attention of policymakers. How much they depend on water is less well understood. Servers generate heat constantly. Failure to cool properly may lead to equipment failure, reduced performance and a threat to operational reliability. Many facilities have cooling systems that can use significant quantities of water to dissipate the heat. With the rise of artificial intelligence, global alarm has been raised over data centers’ water use. AI workloads demand more computer power, which means more heat generation, and therefore more cooling. So, there is an increasing demand for water and electricity.


The problem isn't only how much water is drunk, but where it comes from. Industry’s big demands can clash with those of homes, farms and local ecosystems – especially where water is scarce. This is a problem that Maharashtra has to tackle.


Maharashtra is among the most economically successful states of India. It accounts for a large share of the country’s GDP, attracts considerable foreign investment and is home to some of the country’s important industrial clusters. But it is also a state facing water stress. Some parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha face drought-like conditions every summer. Reservoir levels are falling, groundwater is depleting further and water tankers are becoming a lifeline for many communities. Nor are cities an exception. Mumbai receives heavy monsoon rains but is susceptible to changes in reservoir storage and rising demand from a growing population.


Climate change will probably complicate matters. Heavier downpours, longer periods without rain and rising temperatures are all expected to increase the strain on water management systems. In this context, the arrival of dozens of new data centers creates a new form of industrial water demand. Individual facilities may constitute a small proportion of total state water use but their concentration in specific metropolitan and peri-urban locations may lead to localised pressures. This cumulative effect is all the more pronounced as Maharashtra promotes itself as the key digital infrastructure hub of India.

 

The AI Factor

Then generative AI adds another level of complexity. Artificial intelligence is more than a digital service. It requires far more resources than conventional computing applications. Training advanced AI models needs gigantic computing clusters that run non-stop for long periods of time. Even simple AI queries require processing power not used by traditional web searches.


Governments, organizations and consumers are expected to adopt AI capabilities and the demand for data center capacity is expected to soar. This is a paradox for policy makers. AI can increase efficiency, unleash innovation and boost economic competitiveness. But the infrastructure required to support AI could put even more strain on already stressed energy and water systems. Digital expansion and water management are strategic priorities of Maharashtra and these two goals need to be tackled together, rather than separately.


Governments around the world are beginning to take this seriously. Huge data centre developments have caused anxiety among communities in the United States and Europe over their environmental impact. Local planning conflicts now have prominent issues of water use, energy needs and land-use impacts. Some authorities have responded by calling for more transparency in the use of resources. Others prefer other cooling technologies, water recycling systems and treated wastewater instead of freshwater supplies.

 

These approaches offer useful lessons for India. The goal should not be to slow the development of digital infrastructure. Data centres are crucial for economic development, digital sovereignty, financial services, e-commerce and developing technology. The aim should rather be to ensure that growth takes place within environmental limits.

 

Water Strategy

Maharashtra has the chance to act now, before water problems become baked in. First, big data center projects should be required to report on their water use. Open disclosure would help policymakers and local people better understand the cumulative effects. Second, greater emphasis must be placed on recycled and treated waste water. However, when other sources of water are available, it is increasingly difficult to justify the use of potable freshwater for industrial cooling in water stressed areas. Third, location planning is important. The long-term water resilience of data centres, along with connectivity and land availability, must be examined.

 

Fourth, policymakers should encourage innovation in cooling technologies. Better liquid cooling, closed-loop systems and other efficiency approaches can reduce water use significantly while maintaining performance. And finally, water has to be part of the overall digital infrastructure development. “The conversation around data centers has largely been about power and connectivity. Water has to become an equally important topic of discussion.

 

Maharashtra’s ambition to be the digital infrastructure hub of India is comprehensible. In an increasingly digital world, data centers provide investment, jobs, technical skills and strategic advantages.


But every technology development depends on physical resources. The cloud is not in the heavens. Built on land and powered by electricity, it is cooled with water. As India enters the age of artificial intelligence, the challenge is not just about building digital infrastructure anymore. It is building infrastructure that is in harmony with environmental realities.


For Maharashtra, the question is not whether to create data centres. But the bigger question is whether or not the state can guarantee that its digital future will not come at the expense of one of its most valuable and hotly contested resources. Water might be the most important resource in the race to run the next generation of tech.


(The writer is a columnist and climate researcher with experience in political research analysis, ESG research and energy policy. Views personal.)

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