On Oct. 7, a senior MeitY official detailed the plan to shift 480,000 open datasets and 16,000 ministry datasets to Shakti DB, India's indigenous cloud, in a meeting in New Delhi. The official noted the shift will take place before the DPDP Act's May 13, 2027 compliance date.
The DPDP Act, which will set out rules for processing personal data, is expected to create a framework for safeguarding citizens' information. The act's key provisions are set to come into force on May 13, 2027, prompting ministries to align their data practices.
Shakti DB, built by the National Data Centre, offers 4 PB storage, 10 Gbps bandwidth, and end‑to‑end encryption. The platform also incorporates a policy engine that enforces access controls and audit trails, according to the official.
Implementation will roll out in phases, starting with critical datasets such as health records and tax data. The plan includes cybersecurity audits, interoperability testing, and a governance framework that assigns clear responsibilities to ministries and service providers.
For residents of rural Gujarat, the move means their biometric data used for subsidy schemes will now be stored on a domestic platform, reducing the risk of cross‑border breaches. Meanwhile, a data scientist in Bengaluru says the shift could accelerate AI research by giving secure access to clean datasets.