Storage vendor NetApp is working with Indian rural development lender the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) to help cooperative banks to fund their data center-led disaster recovery strategies.

The scheme will help automate disaster responses via a newly created core banking solution (CBS), which will replace the previous mixture of manual responses and partially computerized standalone systems.

The CBS is designed to give the small to medium sized banking sector in India the options to use multiple technology platforms.

Out of 201 banks with 6,818 branches under the Nabard Project, 199 banks and 6,795 branches were on CBS by March 31, 2014.

Another 87 branches opened in these banks during the process of implementation, which have also been put on CBS. IT service companies TCS and Wipro are implementing the project across the country.

Nabard’s chief general manager Subrata Gupta said the rationale is to create the right conditions for financial inclusion in rural India.

The data centers that underpin the CBS system have allowed Nabard to reach out to India’s rural sector, Gupta said.

“NetApp’s solution has taken us a step closer in achieving our goal of financial inclusion in India.”

The data center strategy has brought all the cooperative banks onto a single technology platform, which has created the possibility for faster transactions and better regulatory compliance with the Indian Reserve Bank, according to Gupta.

It has also made operations cheaper and more efficient.

The move will also enable the government to transfer subsidy and other payments to account holders.

Nabard used NetApps systems integrators and technology providers to install NetApp’s FAS storage systems as a private cloud.

NetApp’s president for India Anil Valluri said FAS storage systems have simplified data management across the CBS platform, from the local office to the data center.

“We believe technology can drive economic growth in the Indian rural sector. We are delighted that NetApp has been able to bring banking closer to many Indians,” Valluri said.