Chief Minister Manik Saha announced the initiative during the "IT for Ashtalakshmi" session at the Rising Northeast Investors Summit 2025 in New Delhi. He highlighted Tripura's commitment to building robust digital infrastructure to support the integration of AI and 5G technologies, paving the way for transformative governance and innovation in the region. Saha emphasized that Tripura now boasts comprehensive 5G connectivity across all towns and 583 villages, making it one of the best-connected states in the region.
The data centre project is a collaborative effort between the state's Information Technology Department and NIXI-CSC Data Services Limited. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed to develop a three-tier data centre, with M/s Bharti Airtel Limited being allocated one acre of land for the initiative. The project is expected to bring in over ₹200 crore in investment and create employment opportunities for around 200 individuals.
In addition to this, another investor, M/s PVM Invensys Private Limited, has proposed a tier-four data centre in Tripura with an estimated investment of ₹100 crore. If approved, this additional project could provide employment for more than 100 people.
These developments are supported by the state's forward-looking policies, including ... . These policies aim to attract investments in the data centre industry and create employment opportunities, positioning Tripura as a significant player in India's IT and digital ecosystem.
Tripura's efforts to enhance its digital infrastructure are further exemplified by the Agartala Smart City project. Agartala has become the first smart city in India to establish its own data centre under a smart city project. The data centre, equipped with servers operating around the clock and featuring equipment worth ₹30 crore, serves as the hub for all smart elements installed throughout the city, including CCTV cameras, traffic signals, LED display boards, and weather information display boards. These are all connected via 156 km of optical fibre cable owned by Agartala Smart City, making this facility the core of the city's network operations.
The data centre has a default provision to store all data, such as CCTV footage from across the city, for 30 days. In cases of incidents where the police or other authorities need to retain data for longer periods, it can be accommodated. The facility boasts substantial storage capacity, with 1 petabyte as primary storage and 1.9 petabytes as secondary storage. This advanced facility is unique in being the only Smart City in India to have its own data centre and optical fibre network. The infrastructure is also scalable to meet future needs.
The state's initiatives have also led to the establishment of offices by several IT companies in Tripura, offering promising employment opportunities to local youth. Under the Tripura IT/ITES Startup Scheme, 26 startups have received financial assistance of over ₹1 crore, employing more than 135 educated youths. A total of 127 startups in the state have been registered under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade , generating jobs for over 800 individuals. Additionally, eight educational institutions have been included under the New Generation Innovation Network, benefiting 160 students through funding of ₹1.2 crore across 55 projects.
To support digital education, the government has introduced Wi-Fi facilities in 19 colleges, with 11 more colleges recently receiving similar upgrades. Under the Chief Minister's Youth Communication Scheme, ₹25.39 crore has been disbursed to 50,771 students between 2020-21 and 2024-25.