RailTel, NBCC to power India’s data centre future with new pact

The RailTel-NBCC partnership is set to meet rising public and private sector demands, fuelling data centre growth in 2025 and enabling global expansion into Vietnam, Mauritius, UAE, and Africa through separate project agreements

RailTel Corporation of India has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NBCC (India) to jointly develop advanced data centre infrastructure across India and selected global markets. This NBCC-RailTel agreement marks a significant move in India's push toward self-reliant digital infrastructure.

As outlined in the NBCC-RailTel MoU, the two public sector enterprises will combine their core competencies to deliver state-of-the-art data centres from concept to commissioning. RailTel will take charge of the IT and network infrastructure, including system design, hardware, cybersecurity, and disaster recovery solutions. NBCC will be responsible for civil works and passive infrastructure, offering project planning, construction oversight, and quality assurance.

The NBCC-RailTel partnership aims to cater to growing demands from both public and private sectors, contributing to the anticipated data centre growth in 2025 and beyond. The collaboration also paves the way for global expansion, with target regions including Vietnam, Mauritius, the UAE, and selected African countries. Each international project will be governed by individual agreements, allowing for third-party involvement where mutually agreed.

Pact to power Digital India

The MoU was signed in the presence of Sanjai Kumar, CMD, RailTel; K P Mahadevaswamy, CMD, NBCC; Raj Kumar Chaudhary, CMD, NHPC; Dr Devesh Tyagi, CEO, NIXI; Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, IPS, Additional CP, Delhi; Rajeev Ranjan (Retd IAS, TN); and senior officials from their respective organizations.

Executives from both organizations emphasized the long-term strategic alignment behind the deal. With data consumption skyrocketing and digital transformation accelerating across industries, there is a pressing need for secure, scalable, and locally hosted data centres.

The NBCC data centre project initiative is in line with India’s vision to become a global technology and innovation hub. As digital infrastructure becomes a national priority, this partnership is expected to play a pivotal role in strengthening India’s position on the global data map, while supporting digital public infrastructure needs at home.