Last Updated on October 25, 2026 9:41 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Our correspondent / Bhubaneswar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India’s Greenfield Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute at Jatni, near Bhubaneswar, to strengthen the security and resilience of India’s critical financial infrastructure amid growing cyber threats.
He stressed the need to protect the banking system from cyberattacks, warning that modern conflicts increasingly target economies and digital infrastructure alongside conventional military assets.
The Prime Minister was speaking after inaugurating the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Greenfield Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute at Info Valley-2 in Jatni, near Bhubaneswar.
Emphasising the need to prepare for evolving cyber threats, Modi said India must ensure that its banking infrastructure remains secure, reliable and efficient. He stressed that the coming decade should focus on strengthening technological capabilities and developing skilled professionals to counter cybercriminals and other malicious actors targeting the financial system.
The newly inaugurated facilities are expected to strengthen the RBI’s technological infrastructure, improve the resilience of critical financial systems and support specialised training in cybersecurity and emerging technologies.
Highlighting the transformation of India’s banking sector, Modi said the country had made significant progress in expanding access to financial services. He referred to the nearly 60 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts as an example of the scale of financial inclusion, alongside wider access to credit, insurance and pension services.
He said the expansion of digital banking had enabled people to access financial services around the clock, making it essential to ensure that the underlying infrastructure remained secure and dependable.
The Prime Minister also underlined eastern India’s growing importance in the country’s economic development, describing the region as an emerging growth engine for a developed India. He said Odisha had the potential to create new opportunities across sectors ranging from mining to semiconductor and microchip-related industries.
Modi expressed confidence that the new RBI facilities would contribute to India’s financial security while opening avenues for skilled employment and technological development in Odisha.
Referring to the broader development of infrastructure and public services, he said expressways were improving connectivity with smaller towns and that institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), along with medical colleges, were expanding access to healthcare across the country.
Sitharaman highlights digital financial infrastructure
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said digital transformation and financial inclusion were playing an important role in strengthening India’s economy.
She said the new RBI data centre would support critical financial infrastructure, including systems associated with the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) platforms.
The Cybersecurity Training Institute, she added, would help develop specialised expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, enterprise computing and data centre management. The institute is also expected to support research and capacity-building in emerging technologies, including quantum computing.
Sitharaman emphasised the Centre’s Purvodaya vision, which seeks to accelerate the development of eastern India, and said the region’s progress was important for the country’s overall economic growth.
Odisha Governor Braj Mohan Ram, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Minister Jual Oram and RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra were among those present at the inauguration.
Strengthening critical financial infrastructure
The RBI’s Greenfield Data Centre has been built at an estimated cost of around ₹170 crore. It is intended to strengthen the security of critical financial data and improve the resilience of the country’s digital financial infrastructure.
The facility will support mission-critical systems, including the RBI’s payment and settlement operations, which are central to the functioning of India’s financial system.
The accompanying Cybersecurity Training Institute is designed to provide specialised training and promote research in cybersecurity, enterprise computing and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
The two facilities are expected to strengthen the RBI’s technological capabilities at a time when India’s rapidly expanding digital payments ecosystem and interconnected financial services require robust safeguards against cyber risks.
Modi arrived in Odisha after completing his visit to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh earlier in the day.