RBI opens Rs 169 crore data centre and cybersecurity institute in Bhubaneswar

The Reserve Bank of India has a new data centre complex in Bhubaneswar, and the central bank says it will operate without leaning on outside cloud providers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rs 169 crore facility on Sunday, Oct. 25. It includes a data centre and a Cybersecurity Training Institute.

What the facility runs

Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the centre will host RBI's payment and settlement systems, including NEFT and RTGS, which operate round the clock. It will also run government banking operations and services used by regulated financial entities.

The e-Kuber platform, which the RBI uses for banking with the central government, state governments and banks, will run there too. So will the RBI's integrated ombudsman system and applications for licences and approvals sought by regulated entities.

Malhotra, speaking in an interview with Doordarshan's DD India after the ceremony, made a point about UPI. The National Payments Corporation of India operates it, but final settlement runs through RBI's data centres and applications.

"IT no longer is a support function. It is a very core function because it is from where all our applications for the general public, for our own use, and for consumers run," Malhotra said.

Built for uptime

The complex will have four independent data centres. Malhotra said it holds the highest Tier IV accreditation from the Uptime Institute and will operate independent of third-party cloud service providers.

His stated goal is better uptime, less downtime and a more resilient financial system.

The location is part of that. Bhubaneswar lies in a different seismic zone from RBI's three existing data centres in Maharashtra, Malhotra said. He also cited geographic distance and the availability of local talent.

The RBI has applied for a platinum rating from the Indian Green Building Council, which would recognise the facility's energy and water efficiency. It said local materials were used in construction.

The training institute

Two-thirds of the land goes to the cybersecurity institute. The data centre gets the other third.

The institute will train RBI personnel, bank employees and staff at other financial-sector organisations. Subjects include AI, big data analytics, quantum technology and blockchain. It will also do research aimed at improving the security, robustness and efficiency of financial infrastructure.

"Cyber security is increasingly becoming important, especially in the wake of AI," Malhotra said.

Self-reliance push

Modi stressed secure digital infrastructure and technological self-reliance at the inauguration. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the facility would house critical systems, including RTGS and NEFT, while building expertise in cybersecurity and emerging technologies.

The RBI says the project supports its aim of strengthening indigenous technology in service of India's 2047 development goal.

The taxpayer angle

The price tag is Rs 169 crore, public money, for infrastructure that sits under every large-value transfer and government banking operation in the country. Hosting the systems in-house is a tradeoff. It removes dependence on third-party cloud vendors, and it puts the burden of uptime and security squarely on the RBI.

The RBI has not said when additional workloads will move onto the Bhubaneswar site or how it will measure the uptime gains Malhotra described.

The next concrete marker is the Indian Green Building Council's decision on the platinum rating application.