India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), plans to launch a pilot program in 2025 that will offer affordable cloud data storage to financial firms. The goal is to provide cloud services at lower prices, especially for smaller banks and financial firms that find current cloud solutions too expensive.

A new cloud platform competing with big names

The RBI's new cloud platform will be developed with local IT companies, making it different from global cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and IBM Cloud. This will be the first time a major central bank offers such a service. The demand for cloud services in India is increasing, especially with the growing financial sector. The cloud market in India was worth $8.3 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $24.2 billion by 2028, according to the International Data Corporation.

Pilot to address affordability issues for smaller firms

The pilot program will begin on a small scale and expand over the next few years. A senior executive working on the project said the platform will be created to support smaller financial companies, who often find the services of global cloud providers too expensive.

The Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS), a research branch of the RBI, is doing the initial work on the project. The RBI has not shared more details yet, but sources say it will partner with private tech companies to develop the platform further.

This project aims to make cloud storage more affordable and accessible for India’s financial industry. It is expected to help the industry grow and promote the development of local cloud services in India.