
The Odisha Cabinet on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, approved the establishment of a Disaster Recovery-cum-Data Centre (DR-cum-DC) in Keonjhar at an estimated cost of Rs 176.83 crore. The facility will come up at the south campus of Dharanidhar University and serve as a geographically separate backup for the primary Odisha State Data Centre in Bhubaneswar, ensuring uninterrupted critical government digital services during disasters or major disruptions.

Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the centre will enable restoration of identified government services within approved recovery time and recovery point objectives. It will have independent power, cooling, connectivity, storage, backup, networking and cybersecurity infrastructure, along with periodic disaster recovery drills. The project includes capital expenditure of Rs 154 crore and operational expenditure of Rs 22.83 crore over five years.
Of the total outlay, Rs 162.83 crore will be funded through the Fifth State Finance Commission grant, with the remainder from the Odisha Computer Application Centre’s data centre maintenance budget. M/s Krystal Integrated Services Ltd, the lowest bidder through an open tender, has been selected to execute the project. The facility is expected to be completed within nine months, followed by five years of operation and maintenance support.
All three outlets report the same facts: the cabinet approval, the Rs 176.83 crore cost, the Keonjhar location at Dharanidhar University, the nine-month implementation period and Krystal Integrated Services as the winning bidder. Business Standard adds context about Keonjhar being the chief minister's home district and a mineral-rich area, a detail the others omit. Times of India and Business Standard quote Chief Secretary Anu Garg directly, Kalinga TV uses the government's official language without attribution. No outlet takes a critical stance: coverage is uniform and neutral, sticking to the government's announcement. The next milestone will be the nine-month construction timeline from the award of the contract.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), kalingatv.com (neutral report), business-standard.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.