The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to launch a pilot programme in 2025 to offer local cloud data storage services to financial firms at affordable prices, according to two sources aware of the matter. The central bank's cloud platform will leverage the expertise of local IT firms, challenging the dominance of global giants like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and IBM Cloud. The burgeoning Indian cloud services market, valued at $8.3 billion in 2023, is projected to reach $24.2 billion by 2028, according to International Data Corporation. However, foreign companies currently dominate this market. The pilot programme will be implemented in phases over the next few years, prioritising the needs of smaller banking and financial services firms that often find existing cloud offerings too expensive. The Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) is spearheading the project's initial development. Subsequently, the central bank will collaborate with one or more private sector technology firms to further advance the platform. EY has been appointed as a consultant for the project, which will be initially funded by the RBI's asset development fund of 229.74 billion Indian rupees. The central bank may also invite financial firms to invest in the platform at a later stage. This move aligns with the RBI's broader strategy to localise payments and financial data. The central bank has issued a procurement notice inviting Indian-incorporated companies with cloud expertise to bid for the project. Selected companies will be required to establish data centre facilities in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Attribution: Reuters Subediting: M. S. Salama
