PM inaugurates RBI's Rs 169-cr data centre, Cybersecurity Training Institute in Odisha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India's Rs 169-crore data centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, officials said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Odisha Governor Brajmohan Ram, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, and Deputy CMs Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida were also present.

The RBI's facility spans 18.55 acres at Info Valley-II in Jatni, and then RBI governor Shaktikanta Das laid the foundation stone on March 22, 2023.

The data centre will host mission-critical payment and settlement systems, along with other flagship initiatives, the government said in a statement.

It will help widen the reach, efficiency, and reliability of digital financial services and will form the secure digital foundation on which India's increasingly technology-driven financial economy can grow, it said.

Similarly, the Cybersecurity Training Institute will boost capability building, providing a dedicated institutional platform for cybersecurity and enterprise-technology training, research, and sector-wide capability development, it said.

The site was chosen for its geographical stability, away from seismically active zones and high-risk international border areas, reducing exposure to natural disasters and geopolitical vulnerabilities, an official said.

Majhi, in a social media post, said the data centre will add to Odisha's journey of development.

He said this was the PM's ninth visit to Odisha after the formation of the BJP government in the state in 2024.

Majhi said the Jatni data centre will be the second of its kind after the one in Navi Mumbai.

The facilities have been designed to meet the bank's computing requirements and provide a secure, resilient, scalable and future-ready computing ecosystem for the bank and the broader financial sector, officials said.