Desk Report
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Reserve Bank of India’s Rs 169-crore data centre during a two-hour visit to Odisha on October 25, officials said on Friday. The facility on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar will be RBI’s second data centre after the one in Navi Mumbai. According to the tentative itinerary shared by the chief secretary’s office, the Prime Minister will land at Biju Patnaik International Airport around 4:30 pm aboard a special Indian Air Force aircraft.
The two-hour itinerary: from airport to Jatni
From the airport, the Prime Minister will take a helicopter to the Khurda helipad and then proceed by road to the RBI facility at Info Valley-II in Jatni for the inauguration ceremony. He is likely to spend an hour at the RBI’s data centre and return to Bhubaneswar by road before departing the state around 6:30 pm, according to the itinerary. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Chief Secretary Anu Garg have reviewed the state’s preparedness before the prime minister’s scheduled visit.
Spread over 18.55 acres: a fortress of cybersecurity
The RBI’s facility is spread over 18.55 acres. “The data centre is designed to strengthen data management, disaster recovery, cybersecurity, and business continuity for core functions such as currency management, payment and settlement systems, and regulatory operations,” an official said. The site in Info Valley-II 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, the official added.
Foundation stone in 2023, inauguration in 2026
The foundation stone for the project was laid by then RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on March 22, 2023. After about three and a half years of construction, the centre is now ready for inauguration. The facility matters for the banking sector because India’s digital payments are expanding at an unprecedented pace — with the growing load of UPI transactions and the challenge of cyber threats, a stronger RBI-owned data infrastructure is considered important for national financial stability.
The PM’s ninth Odisha visit: focus on digital infrastructure
“This will be the PM’s ninth visit to Odisha after the formation of the BJP government in the state in 2024,” the party’s state vice-president Jatin Mohanty said. He said the RBI’s data centre at Jatni will boost Odisha’s digital infrastructure and help the state emerge as a technology and electronics manufacturing destination. “The PM had earlier allocated semiconductor units for Odisha and is now strengthening the digital footprint in the state,” Mohanty said. The Prime Minister had last visited the state four months ago to attend an event commemorating two years of the Majhi government.
RBI’s digital push: from UPI to central bank digital currency
In recent years, RBI has taken several big steps on the digital front. India is today among the world’s largest real-time payments markets, with crores of transactions flowing through UPI every day. The central bank is also running pilot projects for its central bank digital currency (CBDC). Digital operations on this scale demand secure, indigenous and always-available data infrastructure — the new Jatni centre will meet precisely that need. The Navi Mumbai facility has so far served as the main centre; the second centre will guarantee uninterrupted operations even in a disaster scenario, what technicians call ‘geo-redundancy’.
What next: Odisha’s road to a tech capital
Experts believe an RBI-grade data centre will increase the Bhubaneswar–Khordha region’s attraction for IT and electronics companies. The state government is already developing the Info Valley area as a technology hub, and the Prime Minister’s visit will give the campaign national visibility. Despite lasting just two hours, the visit carries large symbolic weight — it reflects the central government’s Digital India agenda and its growing focus on financial cybersecurity.
Disclaimer: This report has been prepared on the basis of available sources and verification. Corrections will be published if any fact is found to be in error.
