Common Service Centre plans to raise funds via IPO

Common Service Centre (CSC), a government-promoted company in the digital space, is planning to join the IPO bandwagon. CSC chief executive Dinesh Tyagi, reported that the company, encouraged by rapid growth in transactions, is planning to tap the primary market to raise funds. CSC should easily have unicorn status and should be a billion-dollar company, Tyagi is quoted as saying. The IPO is likely by March next year, Tyagi said.

The proceeds from the IPO would be used to support expansion, set up a corporate office, and expand the CSC infrastructure, said the report.

CSC has been set up by the Ministry of Electronics & IT to oversee the implementation of the CSC scheme, which provides a centralised collaborative framework for delivery of services to citizens through CSCs.

CSCs are IT-enabled network of citizen service points connecting local population with government departments, business establishments, banks, insurance companies and educational institutions.

CSCs are the access points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, healthcare, financial, education and agriculture services, apart from host of B2C services to citizens in rural and remote areas of the country

According to Tyagi, CSCs have the strongest reach across rural India.

The report said CSC generates over Rs 6,000 crore worth of financial transactions every month, including by facilitating personal banking settlements.

CSC units are increasingly being accessed by banks and insurance companies, FMCG firms and auto makers, said the report. Money9