PM opens RBI's ₹169 crore data centre and cybersecurity institute near Bhubaneswar
In one line: The RBI now has a second, geographically safer data centre near Bhubaneswar for its core payment systems, and a training institute to build cyber defence skills for the financial sector.
Published 26 October 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 October 2026 inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) new Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute at Info Valley-II in Jatni, near Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The facility, built at a cost of ₹169 crore on 18.55 acres, will host what the government called 'mission-critical payment and settlement systems'. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it will house RBI systems including RTGS and NEFT, and that the training institute will build expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Odisha Governor Brajmohan Ram and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi attended. The foundation stone had been laid on 22 March 2023 by the then Governor, Shaktikanta Das.
In his speech, the Prime Minister warned that modern wars are increasingly aimed at economies and not fought only through conventional means. He said financial institutions must be shielded from cybercriminals and cyberterrorists, and that a secure banking system needs secure digital infrastructure supported by robust data centres. He linked the facility to financial inclusion, citing nearly 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts. An official said the site was chosen for its 'geographical stability', away from seismically active zones and high-risk international border areas. Chief Minister Majhi said it would be the second such RBI data centre after the one in Navi Mumbai.
The location logic matters because payment systems are now critical infrastructure. RTGS settles large-value transfers one by one in real time, and NEFT settles retail transfers in half-hourly batches; both have run round the clock since December 2020 and December 2019 respectively. Any outage would freeze interbank payments. A second, geographically distant data centre reduces the risk that a single earthquake, flood or attack takes the core systems offline. The training institute addresses the other half of the problem: the shortage of people who can defend such systems. Together, a stable second site and trained defenders are the two basic answers to the risk the Prime Minister described.
Prelims facts
- The RBI's ₹169 crore Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute at Info Valley-II, Jatni, near Bhubaneswar, was inaugurated on 25 October 2026.
- The data centre will host mission-critical payment and settlement systems, including RTGS and NEFT.
- The site was chosen for geographical stability, away from seismic zones and high-risk border areas; it is the second such RBI data centre after Navi Mumbai.
- The training institute will build skills in cybersecurity, AI and emerging technologies for the financial sector.
- NEFT has run 24x7 since December 2019 and RTGS since December 2020.
Quick recall
- Where is the RBI's new Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute located?
- Info Valley-II, Jatni, near Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
- What did the RBI's new data centre cost?
- ₹169 crore.
- When was it inaugurated, and by whom?
- 25 October 2026, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- Which two RBI payment systems will the data centre house, as named by the Finance Minister?
- RTGS and NEFT.
- Where is the RBI's other such data centre?
- Navi Mumbai.
- Why was the Bhubaneswar site chosen?
- For geographical stability: away from seismically active zones and high-risk international border areas.
- Since when has NEFT been available 24x7?
- December 2019.
- Since when has RTGS been available 24x7?
- December 2020.
Prelims practice question
With reference to payment systems operated by the Reserve Bank of India, consider the following statements:
1. RTGS settles transactions on a gross, one-by-one basis in real time.
2. NEFT settles transactions in batches.
3. Both RTGS and NEFT are available round the clock.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3. All three are correct. RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) settles each transaction individually and immediately. NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) settles in half-hourly batches. NEFT became 24x7 in December 2019 and RTGS in December 2020. Both will be housed in the RBI's new Bhubaneswar data centre.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: Cyber security of critical infrastructure and India's digital payments system
- How to use this
Use the RBI's Bhubaneswar facility as a current example of protecting financial critical infrastructure through redundancy and skilled people.
- The RBI's ₹169 crore data centre near Bhubaneswar, inaugurated on 25 October 2026, will host RTGS and NEFT.
- Sited for geographical stability away from seismic and border zones, it is the RBI's second such centre after Navi Mumbai.
- Its Cybersecurity Training Institute will build skills in cybersecurity, AI and emerging technologies for the financial sector.
The Prime Minister cited nearly 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts when linking secure payment infrastructure to financial inclusion.
Tests understanding of India's digital payment systems, the wider ecosystem that RBI's RTGS and NEFT anchor.
Mains practice question
Financial market infrastructure has become a target in modern conflict. Discuss the cyber threats to India's payment systems and the institutional measures needed to make them resilient. (150 words)
Model answer
The Prime Minister, opening the RBI's ₹169 crore data centre near Bhubaneswar on 25 October 2026, warned that modern wars increasingly target economies.
Threats
- Outage risk: RTGS and NEFT run 24x7; a single-site failure would freeze interbank payments.
- Cyberattacks: intrusions and ransomware by cybercriminals and cyberterrorists, which the Prime Minister flagged.
- Skills gap: too few trained defenders across banks and regulators.
Measures
- Geographic redundancy: the Bhubaneswar centre, second after Navi Mumbai, sited for geographical stability away from seismic and border zones.
- Capacity: the new Cybersecurity Training Institute for cybersecurity, AI and emerging technology skills.
- Institutions: CERT-In for incident response, NCIIPC for critical information infrastructure, RBI cyber security frameworks for banks.
- Regular drills, audits and indigenous technology.
Secure money flows are now a part of national security, not only of banking, and resilience must extend from the RBI's systems to every regulated entity.
The basics
Why this matters
Every salary credit, UPI settlement between banks and large corporate payment eventually passes through systems run by the Reserve Bank of India. If those systems stop, the economy stops. That is why the RBI's new data centre near Bhubaneswar, and the Prime Minister's warning that modern wars target economies, belong in GS3 under both infrastructure and cyber security.
The RBI as payment system operator
The RBI is not only a regulator. It directly operates the two biggest interbank payment systems, RTGS and NEFT. Banks connect to them, and final settlement happens in the banks' accounts with the RBI.
- Real Time Gross Settlement
- Each transaction settled individually, at once
- Meant for large-value transfers
- 24x7 since December 2020
- National Electronic Funds Transfer
- Settled in half-hourly batches
- Used for retail transfers of any size
- 24x7 since December 2019
Why a second data centre
Computer systems fail from floods, earthquakes, power cuts or attacks. Large institutions therefore keep critical systems in more than one place, a principle called Business continuity and data centre redundancy. The Bhubaneswar site was chosen for 'geographical stability', away from seismic zones and high-risk border areas, and is the RBI's second such centre after Navi Mumbai.
People, not just machines
Most breaches exploit people and processes. The new training institute is meant to build skills in cybersecurity, AI and data centre management across the financial sector. It sits within a wider India's cyber security architecture of response teams and protection agencies.
- December 2019NEFT becomes available 24x7
- December 2020RTGS becomes available 24x7
- 22 March 2023Foundation stone of the Bhubaneswar data centre laid
- 25 October 2026Prime Minister inaugurates the data centre and training institute
The takeaway for an answer: resilience of payment systems rests on three legs, geographic redundancy, trained people and a national incident-response system.
Go deeper
Why it matters for UPSC
GS3 covers both infrastructure and the basics of cyber security. Questions on financial sector cyber risk, critical infrastructure protection and digital payments can use this as a current example. Prelims can test the facts about RTGS and NEFT.
The core idea
The RBI directly operates RTGS and NEFT, through which interbank money moves. A failure of the site that runs them would freeze payments. The new centre follows the logic of Business continuity and data centre redundancy: keep critical systems in more than one stable location. The training institute and the Prime Minister's warning about attacks on economies tie the event to India's cyber security architecture.
Numbers and dates to remember
- ₹169 crore cost; 18.55 acres at Info Valley-II, Jatni.
- Foundation stone: 22 March 2023.
- Inaugurated: 25 October 2026.
- Second such RBI centre after Navi Mumbai.
- About 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts cited by the Prime Minister.
Where to go next
- RTGS and NEFT: the payment systems the RBI runs itself.
- Business continuity and data centre redundancy: why a second site matters.
- India's cyber security architecture: who defends India's networks.
Go deeper: is payment infrastructure national security infrastructure?
The Prime Minister's framing, that modern wars are fought against economies and not only through conventional means, moves payment systems from the domain of banking regulation to national security. There are good reasons for this. RTGS and NEFT carry the bulk of interbank value; a sustained outage would hit salaries, trade settlement and government payments at once.
The case for the new facility rests on Business continuity and data centre redundancy. An official said the site was chosen for geographical stability, away from seismic zones and high-risk border areas. Odisha does face cyclones, so physical resilience depends on design as much as location; the announcements do not detail those features.
Technology alone does not secure systems. The Cybersecurity Training Institute recognises that the scarce resource is skilled people, inside the RBI and across regulated entities. This fits within India's cyber security architecture, where CERT-In handles incident response and NCIIPC protects critical information infrastructure.
A balanced answer would add two cautions. First, concentration risk: many retail payments ride on a small number of systems, so redundancy must cover NPCI's systems as well as the RBI's. Second, indigenous capacity: RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra reaffirmed the RBI's commitment to indigenous technological capability, and depending on foreign hardware and software creates supply chain risks of its own.
RTGS and NEFT
The payment systems the RBI runs itself.
In one line: RTGS and NEFT are electronic fund transfer systems owned and operated by the Reserve Bank of India for transfers between bank accounts.
How they differ
RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) settles each transaction individually and at once, which makes it suitable for large-value transfers. NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) collects transactions and settles them in half-hourly batches. NEFT became available 24x7 in December 2019 and RTGS in December 2020.
Why it is in the news
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the RBI's new data centre near Bhubaneswar will house mission-critical systems including RTGS and NEFT. Retail systems such as UPI and IMPS are run separately by the National Payments Corporation of India.
Where to go next
- Business continuity and data centre redundancy
- India's cyber security architecture
Business continuity and data centre redundancy
Why a second, distant site matters.
In one line: Business continuity planning keeps critical services running during a disaster, often by running systems from more than one geographically separate data centre.
The idea
A single data centre is a single point of failure. A flood, earthquake, fire, power failure or cyberattack could take it offline. Keeping a second site far enough away that the same event is unlikely to hit both lets an organisation switch over and keep working. Choosing a geologically stable, low-risk location reduces the chance of physical damage in the first place.
Why it is in the news
The RBI's new centre near Bhubaneswar, its second after Navi Mumbai, was sited for 'geographical stability', away from seismically active zones and high-risk international border areas.
Where to go next
- RTGS and NEFT
- India's cyber security architecture
India's cyber security architecture
Who defends India's networks and how.
In one line: India's cyber defence rests on statutory agencies under the IT Act, 2000, sector regulators and a national policy framework.
The main pieces
- CERT-In: the national agency for incident response under Section 70B of the IT Act, 2000; it issues advisories and coordinates responses.
- NCIIPC: the national nodal agency for protecting critical information infrastructure, under Section 70A.
- Sector regulators: the RBI sets cyber security requirements for banks and other regulated entities.
- National Cyber Security Policy, 2013: the overarching policy framework.
Why it is in the news
The Prime Minister warned on 25 October 2026 that financial institutions must be protected from cybercriminals and cyberterrorists. The RBI's new training institute adds skills capacity to this architecture.
Where to go next
Take the 26 October 2026 quiz: 30 Prelims-style questions with answers