Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India’s Rs 169-crore data centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute in Bhubaneswar, news agency Press Trust of India reported, citing officials.
The facilities are intended to strengthen the security, reliability and reach of India’s digital financial services, while supporting cybersecurity training, research and skills development across the financial sector.
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 Chief Ministers Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida attended the inauguration.
The RBI facility is spread over 18.55 acres at Info Valley-II in Jatni. Its foundation stone was laid by then RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on March 22, 2023.
The data centre will host essential payment and settlement systems, along with other key RBI initiatives, the government said in a statement. It said the facility would help improve the reach, efficiency and reliability of digital financial services and provide a secure foundation for India’s increasingly technology-driven financial economy.
The Cybersecurity Training Institute will provide a dedicated platform for training and research in cybersecurity and enterprise technology, while helping build capabilities across the sector, the statement said.
An official told Press Trust of India that the site was chosen because of its geographical stability and its distance from earthquake-prone zones and high-risk international border areas. This would reduce its exposure to natural disasters and geopolitical risks.
PM Modi arrived at Biju Patnaik International Airport at 4.15 pm aboard a special Indian Air Force aircraft. He travelled by helicopter to Khurda and then proceeded by road to the RBI facility.
Officials said the Prime Minister was likely to spend an hour at the data centre before returning to the airport by road and departing around 6.30 pm.
Around 2,100 police personnel were deployed for the visit, according to officials quoted by Press Trust of India. Traffic restrictions were also imposed from 5.40 pm to 6.40 pm on the route between the RBI data centre and the airport.
Majhi said in a social media post that the data centre would contribute to Odisha’s development. He said this was PM Modi’s ninth visit to the state since the BJP government was formed there in 2024.
The chief minister said the Jatni data centre was the second such facility after the one in Navi Mumbai.
Officials said the new facilities were designed to meet the RBI’s computing needs and provide a secure, resilient, scalable and future-ready technology system for the central bank and the wider financial sector. The data centre and training institute are expected to support digital financial services and strengthen cybersecurity capabilities.
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