The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has established a high-security data centre in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, strategically sited to minimise exposure to potential cross-border threats and high seismic-risk zones. The move is aimed at safeguarding core financial systems and ensuring uninterrupted operations.
The greenfield facility, spread over 18.55 acres at Info Valley-II, Khordha, houses critical computing infrastructure supporting RBI’s currency management, payment and settlement operations, and regulatory data functions. Analysts say the location choice prioritises both operational convenience and strategic security.
“The Odisha site lies well away from India’s western and northern borders, lowering vulnerability to missile or drone attacks. It is also outside high seismic-risk areas, strengthening the safety and continuity framework for financial infrastructure,” an analyst tracking the sector said.
This is RBI’s second data centre, supplementing the Primary Data Centre in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. Unlike Mumbai and Chennai – hubs for major subsea cables – Odisha offers insulation from concentrated cyber risks and dense digital traffic, providing greater network resilience, analysts added.
The facility has been built with Tier-IV certification, the highest standard for data centre reliability. It incorporates redundancy, fault tolerance, and layered physical and cyber safeguards to ensure uninterrupted functioning of mission-critical financial systems.
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The move reflects a global trend among central banks to operate secure, sovereign data centres. Such facilities allow stricter enforcement of security protocols, regulatory compliance, and direct operational control, crucial in an era of rapid digital transactions and real-time payment systems.
RBI’s decision also aligns with the experience of commercial banks relocating sensitive operations during heightened geopolitical tensions, underscoring the importance of secure, geographically insulated infrastructure.
Other financial institutions, including the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the State Bank of India, are either building or have built dedicated data centres to strengthen operational resilience. Analysts note that Odisha offers abundant land, water, and power while providing strategic depth from potential border threats.
“Financial data is now critical national infrastructure. RBI’s Odisha data centre ensures institutional control, mitigates external risks, and safeguards the country’s financial backbone even under extreme scenarios,” an expert said.
In addition to the Odisha site, RBI is piloting a cloud facility with centres in Mumbai and Hyderabad to provide local cloud storage for financial institutions.
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