Protean eGov Technologies Limited is an Indian technology company headquartered in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. The company focuses on developing

digital public infrastructure Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to digital systems and platforms that enable the delivery of services, facilitate data exchange, and support digital governance across various sectors. DPI includes elements such as digital identity syste ...

(DPI) and e-governance initiatives for various governmental bodies in India. It works with central and

state governments State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

across multiple sectors including Tax Services ( PAN,

TIN Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

, eTDS), Social Security and Welfare (CRA for NPS & APY), ID and Data Stack, Open Digital Ecosystem, and Cloud. In 2011, the company was appointed as a registrar for the

Unique Identification Authority of India Aadhaar (Hindi: आधार, ) is a twelve-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by all residents of India, based on their biometrics and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority o ...

(UIDAI) to issue Aadhaar numbers to residents of the country.

History

National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL)

The company (now Protean eGov Technologies Limited) was originally incorporated on 27 December 1995 under The enactment of Depositories Act, December 1995 by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, as NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited, a depository registered with the

Securities and Exchange Board of India The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the Regulatory agency, regulatory body for securities and commodity market in India under the administrative domain of Ministry of Finance (India), Ministry of Finance within the Government ...

(SEBI). In 1996, the company received a certificate for the commencement of business from the

Registrar of Companies A company register is a register of business organizations such as companies in the jurisdiction they operate under. Registration is normally mandated by the government of that jurisdiction. A company register serves a purpose of protection, acco ...

(RoC). It was the first and largest depository in India and has been involved in the development and implementation of various technology infrastructure projects in the country. In 2004, the company launched initiatives such as the Tax Information Network (TIN), Pan Card Issuance, and Online Tax Accounting System (OLTAS). In 2005, it launched the Electronic Accounting System in Excise and Service Tax (EASIEST) and began managing it on behalf of the Central Board of Excise and Customs. The company also manages the Tax Information Network (TIN) for the

Income Tax Department The Income Tax Department (also referred to as IT Department; abbreviated as ITD) is a government agency undertaking direct tax collection of the government of the Republic of India. It functions under the Department of Revenue of the Mini ...

. As part of this system, Protean facilitates the issuance of

Permanent Account Number A permanent account number (PAN) is a ten-character alphanumeric identifier, issued in the form of a polycarbonate card, by the Indian Income Tax Department, to any person who applies for it or to whom the department allots the number without ...

(PAN) cards and enables electronic submission of

Tax Deducted at Source Tax deduction at source (TDS) is an Indian withholding tax that is a means of collecting tax on income, dividends, or asset sales by requiring the payer (or legal intermediary) to deduct tax due before paying the balance to the payee (and the ...

(TDS) returns, along with assisting banks in uploading tax payment data. In 2008, the company was appointed by the

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the regulatory body for overall supervision and regulation of pensions in India. It operates under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance in the Government of India. It was establis ...

(PFRDA) as the Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) for the

National Pension System The National Pension System (NPS) is a defined-contribution pension system in India regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance of the Government o ...

of the Government of India. The company has developed and implemented 19 projects across seven ministries in India. These projects included modernizing the direct tax infrastructure through initiatives such as

(PAN) issuance and the Tax Information Network and enabling a universal social security system for all Indians under the

Atal Pension Yojana Atal Pension Yojana (APY, translation: '' Atal's Pension Scheme''), formerly known as Swavalamban Yojana (SY, translation: ''Self-Support Scheme''), is a government-backed pension scheme in India, primarily targeted at the unorganised sector. I ...

. In 2011, the

(UIDAI) appointed the company as a Registrar for the implementation of the UID mission in India, and in 2013, the company launched e-KYC services.

Formation of NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Ltd.

In 2012, NSDL transferred its depository business, including services under the Depositories Act, to its former subsidiary, NSDL Depository Limited. Later that year, in December, NSDL rebranded as NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited as part of this business restructuring. The company was subsequently rebranded again as Protean eGov Technologies Limited to reflect its broader focus on IT services and expansion into new areas. The company is backed by the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), and

Unit Trust of India UTI Asset Management Company (UTI AMC) is one of India's leading asset management companies. It manages mutual funds, portfolio management services, and retirement solutions for individual and institutional investors. UTI Mutual Fund was launch ...

(UTI), with shareholders including banks like

Canara Bank Canara Bank is an Indian public sector bank based in Bangalore, India. Established in 1906 at Mangalore by Ammembal Subba Rao Pai. The bank was nationalized in 1969. Canara Bank also has offices in London, Dubai and New York. History Amm ...

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

, Citicorp Finance India,

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, Wholesale banking, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retai ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

-based fund Soach Global,

State Bank of India State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Public sector undertakings in India, public sector bank and financial service body headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest bank in India with a 23% market shar ...

Union Bank of India Union Bank of India (UBI) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Mumbai. It has 153+ million customers and a total business of Rs.22,92,644 crores as of 31 March 2025. After the merging with Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank, which c ...

, and

Deutsche Bank AG Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. Deutsche Bank was founded in ...

. In 2015, the company developed the education loan portal Vidyalakshmi, which listed 34 banks and 86 loan schemes by 2018. The company also diversified into e-sign service and was shortlisted as the GSP (GST Suvidha Provider) by GSTN (GST Network) in 2017. In 2018,

IDBI Bank The IDBI Bank Limited (IDBI Bank or IDBI) is a Scheduled Commercial Bank under the ownership of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Government of India. It was established by Government of India as a wholly owned subsidiary of Re ...

sold its entire 30% stake to IIFL Wealth Management. In 2020, it expanded its operations by establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary, Protean Account Aggregator Limited.

Rebranding to Protean eGov Technologies Limited

In 2021, the company rebranded itself to Protean eGov Technologies Limited and launched its subsidiary, Protean InfoSec Services Limited. In 2023, Protean received approval from the

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

(RBI) to operate as an Account Aggregator (AA). The company expanded its operations into the digital commerce sector by joining the

Open Network for Digital Commerce Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a public technology initiative launched by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India to foster decentralized open e-commerce model and is led by a privat ...

(ONDC) and launched a marketplace called ''Rise with Protean'', which focuses on

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

microservices In software engineering, a microservice architecture is an architectural pattern that organizes an application into a collection of loosely coupled, fine-grained services that communicate through lightweight protocols. This pattern is characterize ...

, and related areas. In April 2024, 360 One WAM (formerly IIFL Wealth Management) sold a 5.3% stake in Protean through open-market transactions. In July 2024, Protean launched eSignPro, a digital signature and stamping tool for digital transactions. In August 2024,

Standard Chartered Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in th ...

divested a 3.09% equity stake in the company through a block deal valued at ₹236 crore. The company also formed a partnership with Grameen Foundation for Social Impact (GFSI) to enhance access to financial services for underserved communities, particularly women and marginalized groups. In September 2024, Protean announced its bid for the

Income Tax Department of India Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. For ...

's PAN 2.0 project. This initiative by the IT Department aimed to create, manage, and maintain the PAN database as well as consolidate PAN and

Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number In India, a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) is a 10 digit alpha-numeric number issued by the Income Tax Department to the persons who are required to deduct or collect tax on payments made by them under the Indian Income Tax Act, ...

(TAN) services. In the same year, PayNearby entered into a partnership with Protean to develop a credit marketplace for borrowers, including small business owners, under the ONDC.

Partnerships

Protean was a founding member in establishing ONDC under the

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is a central government department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India. It is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental me ...

(DPIIT)'s leadership. In 2023, Protean announced a collaboration with

Google Cloud Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of cloud computing services offered by Google that provides a series of modular cloud services including computing, data storage, data analytics, and machine learning, alongside a set of management tools ...

to deploy DPI across public and private sectors. Protean teamed up with NPCI Bharat BillPay (NBBL) to develop a decentralized settlement system for participants in digital commerce. In 2024, Protean signed an agreement with

ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturing corporation, headquartered in Luxembourg City. It is ranked second on the list of steel producers behind Baowu, and had an annual crude steel production of 58 millio ...

Nippon Steel (previously known as Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal until 2019) is Japan's largest steelmaker, headquartered in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company has four business segments, which are steelmaking, engineering, chemicals, and systems solu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(AM/NS India) to support the ' Beti Padhao' scholarship initiative across multiple states in India. This initiative, started in March 2022 by AM/NS India, focuses on supporting underprivileged young women.

Initiatives

In its 2015 Budget speech, then

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

Arun Jaitley Arun Jaitley (28 December 1952 – 24 August 2019) was an Indian politician and attorney. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Jaitley served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019. Jait ...

announced that the government would create a single-window electronic platform for providing education loans under the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram. VidyaLakshmi is an online platform for students seeking education loans. It was developed by Protean in 2015 under the guidance of the Department of Financial Services (

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

), the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education), and the Indian Banks Association (IBA). By 2018, the platform had 34 banks and 86 loan schemes listed. Protean also launched another portal called Vidyasaarathi, which is an education scholarship initiative allowing underprivileged students to receive financial assistance through corporate-funded scholarships. Vidyasaarathi announced its partnership with TATA Housing. In 2018, the company reported 28,000 registered students and nine participating companies, including ACC, Care Ratings, SNL Bearings, and Education Consultants of India.

Awards

2024

* Golden Peacock Award 2024 for ONDC * Digital Responsibility Award in the category of 'E-Commerce Fairness by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) * Aegis Graham Bell Awards (AGBA) 2024 * Received the Best Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) award at the Global Fintech Awards 2024

2022

* Golden Peacock Award * Aegis Graham Bell Awards

2018

* Golden Peacock Award for Innovation Management

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Companies established in 1996 Companies of India Information technology companies of India Software companies of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange