According to the ad, the Government has now decided to license public & private agencies to provide Digital Locker Services, as licensed Digital Locker Service Providers (DSLP) and invited applications.
Applications can be made either by an agency of the appropriate Government or a body corporate meeting the following criteria.
- Minimum Paid up capital Rs 5 crores
- Minimum Networth Rs 50 Crores
- Foreign equity not to exceed 49%
The business of a DLSP may include “Portal Services” and “Access gateway management services” related to the Digi Locker scheme.
Naavi expects this business to be huge and requires a high level of skills in managing a secure electronic cloud environment.
It is possible that some of the existing Certifying Authorities who are managing Digital Certificate related business may try to get into this business. However it is not clear if the capital criteria required for the Certifying Authority business and Digi Locker business can be merged or they should be considered separate.
This business is a good opportunity for start ups who have the backing of a group which can provide the initial capital.
Otherwise the NBFCs may also consider this as a good opportunity to diversify into this area.
It would be interesting to know which type of organizations have the vision to see the business prospects that this new line of activity presents.
Naavi
