Narendra Modi: To inaugurate Arvind plant, RBI facilities

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Arvind Limited’s garment manufacturing facility in Varanasi and the Reserve Bank of India’s Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute in Bhubaneswar on 25 October 2026, the Prime Minister’s Office said. The RBI infrastructure includes four data centres intended to host critical payment and settlement systems.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Modi is scheduled to open the garment facility at around 11 am, attend an Indian Air Force aerial display at Varanasi’s Namo Ghat at around 1 pm, and inaugurate the RBI facilities in Bhubaneswar at around 4:45 pm. He will also address the gathering in Bhubaneswar.

Varanasi facility puts women’s employment in focus

The Prime Minister’s Office described Arvind Limited’s new facility as a predominantly women-led manufacturing initiative serving a global customer base. It said the plant would use modern manufacturing practices and create employment opportunities, particularly for women.

The announcement places the factory within the government’s effort to expand textile and apparel manufacturing in Uttar Pradesh. The Prime Minister’s Office said garments manufactured in Varanasi would reach international markets through the initiative, linking local production with overseas customers.

Those statements describe the government’s expectations for the facility rather than measured employment or export outcomes. The visit announcement does not specify the number of workers employed, the proportion of women in the workforce, annual production capacity or the value of export orders.

Apparel Resources reported that the facility is in Mirzamurad, Varanasi, and would produce sportswear and undergarments, among other products. The publication also reported that the company had proposed a second phase of investment to expand the site. The Prime Minister’s Office announcement does not give a timetable for a further phase.

Four data centres for critical financial systems

The Bhubaneswar inauguration concerns both computing infrastructure and a training institution. The Prime Minister’s Office said the RBI facilities had been designed to meet the central bank’s computing requirements and support a secure, resilient system capable of expanding with demand.

According to the announcement, four data centres will host mission-critical payment and settlement systems, along with other RBI initiatives. In this context, mission-critical refers to systems essential to the financial services the infrastructure supports.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the facility had received Uptime Institute Tier IV certification, which it described as the highest tier of operational resilience for data centre infrastructure. It also described the facility as among the largest with that certification in the banking, financial services and insurance sector worldwide.

The announcement links the investment to the reliability, efficiency and reach of digital financial services. It does not identify the individual payment systems to be hosted or give a timetable for transferring workloads to the new infrastructure.

The Times of India reported on 17 October 2026 that the integrated campus occupies 18.55 acres at Info Valley-II near Bhubaneswar. According to the newspaper, then RBI governor Shaktikanta Das laid the project’s foundation stone on 22 March 2023.

The newspaper reported that the Odisha facility would provide backup for the RBI’s primary data centre at Navi Mumbai and strengthen disaster recovery capabilities. That role concerns keeping financial systems functioning when infrastructure elsewhere is disrupted, rather than simply adding storage space.

What the computing infrastructure does

A data centre houses the computers, storage equipment and network connections needed to process and exchange digital information. A Press Information Bureau backgrounder on India’s data centre infrastructure, dated 14 September 2026, explains that such facilities support online banking, digital payments, government services and cloud computing.

The backgrounder describes several systems working together. Servers run applications and process information, storage equipment holds data, and networking equipment carries information within the facility and to external networks. Security systems protect equipment, networks and information against physical and digital threats.

Reliable electricity and cooling are also part of that infrastructure. According to the Press Information Bureau, uninterruptible power supplies provide immediate backup during electrical interruptions, while generators can support operations during longer disruptions. Cooling systems maintain suitable temperatures for computing equipment.

These are general features of data centres, not a specification of the new RBI campus. The Prime Minister’s Office announcement does not detail the Bhubaneswar facility’s power capacity, cooling technology or energy and water consumption.

Training alongside the technology investment

The Prime Minister’s Office said the Cybersecurity Training Institute would provide a dedicated platform for training, research and capability development in cybersecurity and enterprise technology, meaning technology used across an organisation’s operations.

Its stated focus includes artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other emerging technologies relevant to banking, financial services and insurance. The announcement presents the institute as supporting capability development across the sector, but does not specify course schedules, enrolment capacity or eligibility for participation.

Air Force display between the inaugurations

Between the two inaugurations, Modi will attend the Air Force Day Aerial Display-2026 at Namo Ghat as chief guest, the Prime Minister’s Office said. The programme will commemorate the Indian Air Force’s 94th anniversary under the theme “Wings over Ganges”.

According to the announcement, participating aircraft will include Tejas, the Light Combat Helicopter Prachand, SU-30MKI and Rafale, alongside transport aircraft and aircraft from the Indian Navy and Indian Army. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team and Sarang Helicopter Display Team are also scheduled to participate.