Bhubaneswar, Oct 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Odisha on Sunday to inaugurate the Reserve Bank of India’s Rs 169-crore data centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute in Bhubaneswar, officials said.
According to the tentative itinerary, Modi is scheduled to land at Biju Patnaik International Airport here around 4.10 pm aboard a special Indian Air Force aircraft.
From the airport, the PM will take a helicopter to 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 the airport by road before departing the state around 6.30 pm, according to the itinerary.
“Another new chapter will be added to Odisha’s journey of development. The visit of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji to Odisha and the inauguration of RBI’s state-of-the-art data centre will not only strengthen the state’s digital infrastructure but also give new momentum to the security of the country’s financial data and the growth of the digital economy,” Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said in a social media post.
Majhi said the RBI data centre’s success will be measured by its long-term impact on digital infrastructure, financial data security, and public benefit.
“This will be the PM’s ninth visit to Odisha after the formation of the BJP government in the state in 2024,” he said.
He said the RBI’s data centre at Jatni will be the second of its kind after one in Navi Mumbai.
Officials said the data centre and the training institute would strengthen the technological foundations of India’s financial system.
These 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, they said.
“The state-of-the-art data centre will host mission-critical payment and settlement systems, along with other flagship initiatives. The facility has been certified to Uptime Institute Tier IV standard — the global benchmark for data centre infrastructure — placing it in the highest tier of operational resilience. It is among the largest Tier IV certified facilities in the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) sector worldwide,” an official statement said.
The data centre will contribute to widening 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 will also help strengthen the RBI’s unique standing as a leader in digital infrastructure amongst the central banking community, 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, the statement said.
This institute will focus on cutting-edge technologies relevant to the BFSI sector, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence and other frontier technologies.
The RBI’s facility is spread over 18.55 acres. The foundation stone for the project was laid by then RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on March 22, 2023.
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, an official said.
Odisha BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said, “The people of Odisha warmly welcome PM Modi for bringing this significant national infrastructure project to the state. The establishment of the RBI’s data centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute is a matter of immense pride for our state.”
The PM had last visited the state four months ago to attend an event commemorating two years of the Majhi government.
Meanwhile, the state police have made elaborate security arrangements, deploying around 70 platoons for the PM’s visit. A platoon comprises 30 personnel.
It also issued traffic restrictions from 5.40 pm to 6.40 pm on Sunday along the route connecting the RBI data centre to the airport.
(PTI News)
