Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a green data centre with a proposed investment of Rs 1,000 crore. The facility, to be developed in collaboration between Central Electronics Ltd (CEL) and ESDS Software Solution Ltd, is expected to strengthen the state’s digital and industrial infrastructure.
The 30 MW Tier 3-grade data centre will come up on the CEL campus in Sahibabad. Officials said the project marks a significant step in repurposing a public sector unit (PSU) once under the radar for disinvestment.
A Shift in CEL’s Strategic Direction
The initiative is seen as part of the government’s larger approach to revive underutilised PSUs through strategic partnerships with private players. CEL, a mini-Ratna PSU under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, will collaborate with ESDS, a cloud and data centre service provider currently in the process of going public.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh, also present at the event, acknowledged CEL’s legacy, pointing to its pioneering work in solar technology in the 1970s. He said the partnership shows how public-private collaboration can serve national infrastructure goals.
Infrastructure Details and Investment Plan
Designed as a Tier 3 facility which allows systems to remain online during maintenance the data centre will host 200 high-density racks per floor, supported by 30 MW power capacity and 40 Gbps connectivity. According to HPE’s classification, Tier 3 data centres offer 99.982% uptime, equating to less than 2 hours of annual downtime.
Officials said the Rs 1,000-crore investment will be shared between CEL and ESDS, though specifics on the funding breakdown or implementation timeline were not disclosed.
