PM Modi calls for stronger cyber defences to safeguard India’s banking system
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged India to strengthen its banking infrastructure against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, warning that modern conflicts can target a nation’s economic foundations as well as its conventional defences.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the Reserve Bank of India’s new Greenfield Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute in Jatni, near Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The two facilities are intended to reinforce the security of India’s financial systems while developing specialist expertise to address emerging digital threats.
Modi highlighted the transformation of India’s banking sector, pointing to expanded financial inclusion, wider access to credit and insurance, and the growth of digital banking services. He cited nearly 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts as an example of the country’s progress in bringing more people into the formal financial system.
The Prime Minister said the coming decade should focus on making banking more dependable, accessible and secure. He stressed the importance of modern technology, robust digital infrastructure and trained professionals in protecting financial institutions from cybercriminals.
He also described eastern India as an increasingly important contributor to national development, identifying Odisha as a state with opportunities spanning traditional industries such as mining and emerging fields such as semiconductor manufacturing.
Modi referred to improvements in transport and healthcare infrastructure, including the expansion of expressways, AIIMS institutions and medical colleges into smaller cities and towns.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who also attended the inauguration, said digitalisation and financial inclusion were helping strengthen India’s economy.
She noted that the new RBI infrastructure would support essential financial operations, including Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT). The cybersecurity institute, she added, would train professionals in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber defence and data centre operations.