Tirupati to Anchor Andhra Pradesh’s Digital Disaster Backup Plan

In a major push to strengthen e-governance infrastructure , the Government of Andhra Pradesh has approved the establishment of a full-fledged Disaster Recovery (DR) Centre in Tirupati. The facility will serve as a dedicated backup to the state’s primary data hub, ensuring uninterrupted digital services even during emergencies.

The state’s core digital infrastructure is currently anchored at the Andhra Pradesh State Data Centre in Amaravati, which functions as the central repository for government data. It hosts a wide range of critical applications, including official web portals, citizen service delivery platforms, and internal administrative systems. At present, the centre operates from a leased private data facility in Mangalagiri.

However, the absence of a geographically distant ‘far-site’ disaster recovery facility had raised concerns among several government departments. In the event of a natural disaster, cyberattack, or major technical failure, essential services risk disruption without a parallel backup facility.

The need for a dedicated DR centre gained urgency after the IT, Electronics and Communications Department directed all government applications hosted in private environments to be migrated to the State Data Centre as part of the State Data Lake initiative . Officials noted that such consolidation makes a robust disaster recovery system indispensable.

The decision to establish the Tirupati facility was taken during a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. He instructed officials to develop the centre as a secure alternative site to the Amaravati data hub.

The project will be implemented at an estimated cost of ₹195 crore . The comprehensive plan covers civil construction, IT and non-IT infrastructure, and five years of maintenance. The facility will be developed under the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model .

Funding for the capital expenditure will be sourced from the Centre’s “Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment” scheme. The DR Centre is proposed to come up within the campus of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Tirupati.

Once operational, the Disaster Recovery Centre will ensure continuity of government digital services during natural calamities, system failures, or other unforeseen disruptions. Officials believe the move will significantly enhance long-term digital resilience and reinforce public trust in the state’s expanding e-governance ecosystem.