Risks to Know When Entering India: Water, Electricity, Telecommunications, and Security

Let's look into the key water, power, telecom, and security risks when entering India.

-[India Expansion Infrastructure Guide ①]- When companies evaluating entry into the Indian market discuss "infrastructure," the first things that come to mind are usually roads, power grids, and 5G networks. However, once you open a local office and set up plant operations, what often hinders operations are not grid electricity or internet availability, but unexpected utilities and operational variables such as "water supply," "fiber-optic cable cuts by excavators," and "revoking security privileges for departing employees." Here is a summary of the actual utility landscape in key hubs—including Bengaluru—and the operational risk mitigation measures that local managers must manage. 1. Water: The Dry-Season Water Risk "Money Can't Buy" Even Bengaluru, India’s largest IT hub, faces severe water shortages during the dry season every year. While prime IT parks usually receive municipal piped water, they frequently rely on private Water Tankers (water truck deliveries) to cover shortfalls during the dry months. ① Money Cannot Buy Water During the Dry Season (March–May) Supply Crisis: During the dry season, corporations, residential apartments, and manufacturing plants simultaneously search for water tankers. As a result, prices surge, and securing a booking becomes extremely difficult. Supply companies themselves struggle to secure water, meaning offers to "pay extra to get priority delivery" often fail. Operational Action: Do not rely solely on building managers. Secure direct contact details for 2 to 3 private Water Tanker vendors in advance. In emergencies, local personal networks determine the speed of operational recovery. ② Core Aspects of Drinking Water and Filter Management Water Quality and Purification: Water supplied via tankers carries a high likelihood of containing scale (calcium/minerals) and impurities, making high-performance filtration standard practice. For drinking water, separate contracts should be made for RO (Reverse Osmosis) purifiers or 20L bottled water jugs. Adhering to Filter Replacement Cycles: Regular filter replacement is more critical than initial purifier installation. Delaying filter replacements in humid environments causes purifiers to become breeding grounds for bacteria. Ice Precautions: While ice from global chains like Starbucks, CCD, and McDonald's undergoes purification and is safe, ice from local restaurants or street vendors carries a high risk of contamination. Business travelers and expats must exercise caution. 2. Electricity: Grid–DG Set–UPS 3-Tier System and BCP Strategy India experiences frequent rolling blackouts and voltage fluctuations caused by power transmission and distribution instability. The reason you don't notice power outages in IT parks is not that the power grid is perfect, but because an ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch) automatically detects outages and spins up a DG Set (Diesel Generator) to supply power. ▶ BCP Strategy to Prevent Momentary Outages: Laptops Over Desktops There is a physical delay of several seconds to a few minutes between the main power (Grid) cutting out and the DG Set coming online. Global IT companies operating in India provide laptops instead of desktops by default not merely for mobility. It is an operational strategy from a Business Continuity Planning (BCP) perspective , where the internal battery buffers momentary power interruptions. ▶ Industrial UPS Essential When Occupying Mid-to-Small Buildings When renting space in budget-friendly mid-to-small buildings, servers or PCs may shut down if power demand exceeds DG Set capacity. Installing industrial/office-grade UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) systems inside the office space is essential. 3. Telecommunications: "Road Excavators" Are Scarier Than Internet Speeds India's 5G and fiber-optic communications (Airtel, Jio) are low-cost and fast. The real issue is not network capability, but "physical cuts." ▶ Physical Line Cuts Caused by Road Construction Lack of Signage and Utility Maps: Unlike South Korea, many areas in India lack underground utility signs or mapping systems that indicate the precise location and depth of buried fiber-optic cables. Unstable Burial Depths: Cables are often arbitrarily buried at shallow depths of 30–50 cm rather than standard depths. Consequently, underground metro/road construction, or even simple excavation work across major cities, easily cuts fiber-optic lines. Countermeasures: Build physical line redundancy using two different telecom providers (e.g., Airtel and Jio). Leveraging Starlink (Satellite Internet): Starlink has received its GMPCS (satellite communication license) approval from the Indian government and is currently undergoing final spectrum allocation and security verification ahead of commercial launch (unauthorized terminal import is prohibited). Once officially launched, it can serve as an excellent backup connection during fiber cuts. Its value will be particularly high in suburban plants, logistics centers, and construction sites where fiber access is difficult, rather than in downtown office buildings. ♣ Countering the Objection: "Doesn't using two telecom lines double the cost?" Managers unfamiliar with local conditions often face resistance from planning or finance teams asking, "Is dedicated line redundancy really necessary?" However, considering the following operational risks, redundancy is an essential investment: Days Required for Line Repairs: Fiber cables cut by road construction take anywhere from several hours to multiple days to repair. The opportunity loss resulting from paralyzed employee work and disconnected HQ links far exceeds the monthly cost of a backup line. Limitations of Same-Provider Backup: Contracting two lines from the same provider means that when an excavator strikes that provider’s underground conduit, both primary and backup lines fail simultaneously. You must use a combination of two different providers (e.g., Airtel + Jio) with separate physical pathways. Cost Optimization via Active-Active Setup: Rather than leaving the backup line idle, run an Active-Active setup that distributes general traffic during normal operations and automatically reroutes primary line traffic during outages. This achieves optimal operational stability relative to telecommunication costs. 4. Security: "Operational Policies" Matter More Than System Setup Major IT parks and industrial clusters in India already use various access control and security systems. ① Systems Are Built Relatively Easily CCTV, access cards, QR visitor registration, biometric access systems (Suprema, Honeywell, HID, etc.), and vehicle access controls can be implemented as easily as in Korea. When adopting biometric systems for identity verification, review personal data regulations (such as the DPDP Act) and employee consent procedures. Therefore, early-stage entrants should focus not on "Can we install it?" but on "Can we effectively operate it?" ② External Staff and Visitor Control Are More Challenging Locally, external personnel—such as cleaning, facilities management, security, catering, and contract engineers—enter and exit frequently. Because local awareness may not automatically align with headquarter standards, establishing visitor registration procedures must be paired with an operational system that consistently enforces compliance on-site. ③ Internal Policies Come Before CCTV Installation Simply adopting a "just install more CCTVs" approach is risky. Internal operational policies regarding recording range, personal data handling, video retention periods, and viewing rights must be established upfront to avoid legal and administrative risks. ④ High Workforce Mobility: The Importance of Revoking Offboarding Privileges India has a significantly higher job turnover rate than Korea. Deactivating access cards, deleting VPN accounts, and revoking system access for departing employees is even more critical than onboarding new hires. A significant portion of security incidents stems from failing to remove access permissions in a timely manner. An integrated system management process linked with HR onboarding/offboarding is mandatory. 5. [Summary] Comparison of Utility Risks Across Major Indian Hubs City Key Characteristics & Risks Bengaluru Excellent IT infrastructure, but faces municipal water shortages and high reliance on dry-season water tankers. Frequent cable cuts due to road construction. Chennai Excellent manufacturing location, but one of India’s representative water-risk regions. High reliance on seawater desalination makes water supply review essential. NCR (Gurgaon/Noida) Strong power and IT infrastructure, but faces tightening groundwater usage regulations and severe summer heatwaves (exceeding 45°C). Hyderabad Better water availability than Bengaluru and stable IT park infrastructure, but experiences severe summer heatwaves. Pune Strong manufacturing location with relatively stable water and power, though rapid urban expansion causes localized supply imbalances. Conclusion: Backup and Operational Systems Matter More Than Infrastructure Unforeseen situations will always occur during business operations. The challenge is predicting when and where they will happen. Issues such as water shortages, power outages, internet disconnections, and access control failures are not unique to India—they can happen anywhere. However, in India, these situations occur more frequently and in less predictable ways. The goal is not to eliminate every risk, but to prepare for foreseeable risks in advance by establishing alternatives and backup systems. Unexpected problems will arise. What matters most is whether your organization can establish response procedures when they do and learn from them. Ultimately, success in entering India is determined less by the absolute level of existing infrastructure and more by how quickly your organization can recover and normalize operations when issues arise.