Modi Inaugurates RBI’s ₹169-Crore Data Centre in Odisha
The 18.55-acre facility in Jatni will host critical payment and settlement systems and strengthen cybersecurity training and digital infrastructure for India’s financial sector.
Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) new Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute at Info Valley-II in Jatni, Khordha district, describing the facility as an important addition to India’s digital infrastructure.
“Today, Bhubaneswar is giving a new institution to the new India. The inauguration of RBI’s Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute here is an important occasion,” Mr Modi said, congratulating everyone associated with the project.
Emphasising the Centre’s development approach, the Prime Minister said the government had adopted a model of “pro-people, proactive good governance”, with a focus on balanced development and creating opportunities in villages and smaller towns.
The PM further said, “Nowadays, wars are not fought only with weapons. If you want to weaken a country, this can also be done by attacking its economy. And when India is becoming economically strong, we also need to protect our banking system from cyber thieves and cyber terrorists.”
Built on 18.55 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 169 crore, the facility is the RBI’s second data centre after the one in Navi Mumbai. It is designed to strengthen the security and resilience of India’s critical financial infrastructure, including payment systems such as Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT).
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the rapid expansion of digital payments in the country, saying the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) now processes more than 2,400 crore transactions a month, or nearly 80 crore transactions a day.
Describing data centres as the “vault of the digital age,” Ms Sitharaman said the new campus would enhance India’s domestic capacity to support critical payment infrastructure.
She said the Cybersecurity Training Institute, which has a dedicated research wing, would develop specialised expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and data centre technologies.
The data centre will support the secure storage and management of information associated with digital financial transactions and strengthen the continuity of banking services in the event of cyberattacks, technical failures or other disruptions.
The facility will also focus on emerging technologies, including cloud computing, AI and big data analytics. Its associated training and research activities are expected to strengthen the capabilities required to safeguard the country’s increasingly digital financial ecosystem.
Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other dignitaries attended the inauguration.
After inaugurating the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) new Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow from Jatni to Bhubaneswar airport before departing for New Delhi.
