CSC VLE: what to add and what to ask CSC first

If you run a Common Service Centre (CSC) as a Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE), you already have what many shop owners are still trying to build: a counter, regular customers and a platform to work on. So when a private company calls and says, “Add our services too”, the sensible questions are different. Which services can you not already offer? And are you even allowed to have another provider sitting next to CSC at your centre?

SiOnline is a private company, SI Online Technomart Private Limited. It doesn’t run the CSC scheme, doesn’t set its terms and can’t read them for you. This page tells you what the government documents say, what SiOnline offers on its side, and which questions to put to each party before you pay anyone.

What do government documents list for CSCs?

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) hosts a PDF titled “List of Services offered through CSCs”. It has no printed date, and the file’s creation date is April 2022. As of 17 October 2026 it includes these lines:

A Press Information Bureau (PIB) release of 11 July 2025 describes each CSC as managed by a VLE. It lists services that include PAN card processing, utility payments, “IRCTC Agent Services” and “Mobile and DTH recharges”.

Here’s the catch. Neither document shows which services are switched on for your centre. Only CSC can tell you that. So before you do anything else, check what’s active on your own CSC login.

IRCTC’s register of authorised service providers also lists “M/s CSC e Governance Services India Ltd. Delhi” first in its “List of Working Principal Service Providers (E-Governance Scheme)”. The register doesn’t say whether that entry registers retail agents. So ask CSC whether and how it can register you for IRCTC before you pay anyone else.

What do the CSC 2.0 guidelines say about the VLE?

The CSC 2.0 implementation guidelines are dated December 2015. They name CSC e-Governance Services India Limited (the CSC SPV, or Special Purpose Vehicle) as the implementing agency. The platform may have changed since then, so treat the guidelines as background, not as your current contract. Four points matter if you’re thinking about a second provider.

• Who funds the counter. The VLE invests in the infrastructure and arranges connectivity at the VLE’s own cost.
• How the VLE is paid. Commission earned through service delivery is credited to the VLE wallet managed by the CSC SPV. The guidelines recommend that the VLE gets at least 80% of the commission income on transactions.
• Where transactions run. Business to Citizen (B2C) service providers “participating in the CSC eco-system” must integrate with the universal CSC platform and “ensure that all VLEs transact through this platform without which CSCs will not be considered as a part of the CSC Scheme”. Whether a separate private provider counts as participating is for CSC to say.
• What the outlet shows. National and state branding is displayed, the 2015 text says “no private other branding will be allowed”, and the rate list must be displayed. But the same guidelines say CSCs were meant to give access to “government, private and social services”. So the branding line isn’t the whole picture.

The guidelines don’t mention a separate private ID run from the same counter. That makes it the first thing to ask. If a second provider were to touch your CSC terms, it would most likely be in three places: the branding, the platform you transact on, and how earnings are credited.

What could a private platform add?

IRCTC, PAN, bill payments, recharge and FASTag each have a line in MeitY’s list. So a second provider mostly offers another route to services that CSC may already list. That’s worth saying plainly, because it changes the question. It’s less “what can I add?” and more “is a second route worth the extra paperwork?”

SiOnline runs its own registrations, wallet and support. Ask it in writing whether any of its services connect to the CSC platform. What follows comes from SiOnline’s own pages and the IRCTC register.

IRCTC. IRCTC doesn’t register a new retail e-ticketing agent directly. Principal Service Providers (PSPs) do. SiOnline is listed on IRCTC’s register “IRCTC Authorized Service Providers (Agents)”, Internet Cafe Scheme, page 6, row 27, as “M/s SI Online Technomart Pvt. Ltd., Ratlam”, and says it has been a PSP since 2018. You can open the register (file date March 2026) and check both entries yourself. SiOnline also explains how to check a provider on IRCTC’s list.

As of 17 October 2026, SiOnline’s Standard IRCTC agent registration is ₹3,000 including GST, non-refundable and for OTP login. Premium is ₹4,000 including GST. SiOnline’s current pricing page also lists monthly maintenance of ₹236, an agent ID renewal of ₹2,360 a year and an OTP login renewal of ₹1,180 a year. Ask in writing what Premium covers beyond IRCTC.

PAN. SiOnline provides wallet-based UTI PAN Service Agent (PSA) IDs only. You load a wallet, and each PAN application is deducted from it. The UTI PSA agent registration fee is ₹1,180, as of 17 October 2026, and it isn’t free. UTI PSA agents log in to the SiOnline portal, which is connected to the UTI portal.

Other services. SiOnline’s services page also lists BBPS bill payments, mobile and DTH recharge and FASTag agent registration. Ask SiOnline for its bill-payment charges in writing before you pay. As for FASTag, agent fees and commission are not published here. SiOnline shares the figures for your case on enquiry. Ask for them in writing before you pay anything.

Who sets the rules for each service?

Use this table to see who you’d really be dealing with. If your centre already has these services active on the CSC platform, a second provider may not be worth it.

UTIITSL is UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited. NHAI is the National Highways Authority of India, IHMCL the Indian Highways Management Company Limited, and NBBL NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd.

On FASTag, the IHMCL FAQ says a customer buys a tag at the points of sale of National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) member banks, “their distribution agents” or their sales offices, or applies online at the issuer bank’s website or at nhai.gov.in.

On bill payments, the RBI directions dated 29 February 2024 describe an agent institution as an entity certified by NBBL that provides the customer interface for bill payments. They name NBBL as the authorised operator of BBPS. Ask SiOnline which certified entity it uses for your location. SiOnline’s IRCTC listing is the only registration shown on this page.

What six questions should you put to CSC in writing?

Send these through your usual CSC contact or helpdesk, and keep the replies. They’re questions. They aren’t statements of CSC’s rules.

1. Do my CSC terms allow me to hold an agent ID from another provider and use it from the same counter?
2. If I list services from another provider, what branding or display rules apply to my outlet?
3. If a service is on the CSC platform and also on a private platform, is there any rule about which one I use for a given customer?
4. Does adding another provider affect my CSC ID, my CSC wallet or how my earnings are credited?
5. Which records must I keep for CSC transactions, and for how long?
6. Whom do I ask when CSC’s platform and another provider’s rules point in different directions?

If CSC doesn’t answer in writing, treat the permission as unconfirmed. Asking costs nothing, and SiOnline’s Standard IRCTC registration fee is non-refundable. So it’s cheaper to wait for the answer than to find out afterwards.

How do you keep the two wallets apart?

CSC credits commission to a wallet managed by the CSC SPV, according to the 2015 guidelines. SiOnline’s IRCTC IDs run on a wallet that you load yourself. As of 17 October 2026, the minimum balance is ₹199, which is held as a deposit, isn’t specific to IRCTC, FASTag or UTI, and isn’t a fee. Top-up is free up to the agent’s defined daily limit, then ₹100 per transaction.

Two wallets means two sets of records. Keep them separate, so that at month end you can say which platform each transaction ran on. Otherwise a small mix-up in March becomes a long argument in April.

What if CSC says a second provider is fine?

Imagine CSC replies in writing that you can hold an agent ID with another provider. Good. Keep that reply with your records.

Next, ask SiOnline for its terms in writing: what each registration costs, what Premium includes, which services are in the quote and what you’d pay again later. Don’t forget the recurring items. The renewals and the monthly maintenance for IRCTC IDs matter as much as the first payment.

Read the current services page and pricing page first, and then ask about becoming a SiOnline retailer.

What if CSC says no, or doesn’t reply?

Then you have your answer for now. Don’t start a second provider on the hope that nobody will notice. If the reply is vague, ask the question again, shorter, and mention the clause or date you’re asking about. And if CSC already lists the service you want and it’s active on your login, you may not need a second provider at all.

Questions VLEs ask

Is a private platform worth it if CSC already lists the service?

Only you can say, but start from your CSC login. If IRCTC, PAN, bill payments, recharge or FASTag are already active there, a second provider adds another route, not a new service. Count the extra fees, the extra wallet and the extra records before you decide.

Can SiOnline tell me what my CSC terms allow?

No. SiOnline isn’t part of the CSC scheme and can’t read your CSC terms for you. Put the six questions above to CSC, and bring CSC’s written reply to SiOnline if you decide to go ahead.

Sources

• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology: List of Services offered through CSCs, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (hosted): Implementation Guidelines for CSC 2.0, A Way Forward, December 2015, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• Press Information Bureau: Common Services Centres (CSC) to celebrate 16 years of digital empowerment on 16th July 2025, posted 11 July 2025, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• IRCTC: Authorized Service Providers register (file dated March 2026), retrieved 17 October 2026.
• Indian Highways Management Company Limited: FASTag user FAQ, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• Reserve Bank of India: Master Direction, Bharat Bill Payment System Directions, 2024, 29 February 2024, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited: PAN services home page, retrieved 17 October 2026.

For CSC portal steps, eligibility rules and fees, read CSC’s own site or ask your CSC contact. Confirm facts at the source before you act.