The fast-growing cloud services market in Asia's third largest economy was valued at $8.3 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $24.2 billion by 2028, however, it is mostly controlled by international companies, as per report by International Data Corporation.

"We want to start implementing on a smaller scale in the next few months," said one of the two sources, a senior executive working on the project.

The source mentioned that the pilot will be implemented gradually in the coming years. They also stated that the cloud service will cater to the requirements of smaller banking and financial firms that are unable to afford current options.

Last December, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das revealed intentions to establish a public cloud for the financial services sector. Information about the project has not been disclosed before. The RBI ignored an email from Reuters asking for information about the project.

The Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services, part of the central bank's research division, is spearheading the initial efforts on cloud technology. According to the sources, it will next be expanded in collaboration with one or more private sector technology companies.

Consulting company EY has been selected to advise on the project. The central bank's asset development fund will provide 229.74 billion Indian rupees ($2.72 billion) for the project. Later, financial firms will be invited by the central bank to have equity.