Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India’s new Data Centre and Cyber Security Training Institute in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, placing secure digital infrastructure and specialised cyber skills at the centre of India’s response to rising risks in online finance.
The two facilities were inaugurated in the presence of Odisha Governor Braj Mohan Ram, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Ministers Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and other senior officials. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister Jual Oram, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and Rajya Sabha MP and BJP Odisha president Manmohan Samal also attended the event.
Modi arrived at Bhubaneswar airport at 4.10 pm and travelled by special helicopter to the Infovalley-2 helipad, according to the report. During the inauguration, he described the facilities as critical to making the country’s economic framework stronger, safer and more technology-dependent.
The RBI Data Centre is expected to support secure data management, protected storage and uninterrupted digital services. Its role comes as banking and financial transactions increasingly move online, creating greater exposure to cyber fraud, data theft and other forms of digital attack. The facility is intended to reinforce the technology base supporting India’s digital financial infrastructure.
The Cyber Security Training Institute will provide specialised training, research and skill development for professionals in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance sector. Its areas of focus will include quantum computing, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies relevant to financial security.
Artificial intelligence can help identify unusual transaction patterns and potential fraud, while quantum computing presents both opportunities and challenges for cryptography and data protection. The institute’s proposed focus therefore links technology development with the need for trained personnel capable of managing fast-changing security risks.
The inauguration also highlights the institutional challenge created by the rapid expansion of digital finance: protecting systems requires not only secure facilities and data infrastructure, but also specialised human resources. The Prime Minister said that combining modern technology with robust cyber security would better equip financial institutions to respond to evolving threats.
The new facilities place Bhubaneswar within the RBI’s technology and cyber-security infrastructure network. Their operational role, training programmes and future research activities will determine how they contribute to the resilience of financial services and digital transactions. The RBI and participating institutions are expected to take forward the facilities’ data-management, training and research functions.
