Onextel bags messaging services contract from NICSI, expects up to Rs 125 cr in annual revenue

New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) Enterprise communication service provider Onextel on Sunday said it has bagged a deal from state-owned NICSI to provide messaging services for government organisations, and the contract is estimated to add up to Rs 125 crore to its annual revenue.

National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated (NICSI), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), serves as the central technology services arm for ministries, state governments, public sector undertakings, and autonomous bodies.

Its message gateway framework supports large-scale government-to-citizen communication through SMS and related messaging channels used for service notifications, authentication messages, public advisories, and emergency alerts.

"Onextel Limited has been empanelled by NICSI to provide Message Gateway Services for government organisations across India. The empanelment, granted under Request for Empanelment, authorises Onextel Limited to deliver secure, scalable, and fully TRAI-compliant messaging services to central and state government departments through NICSI's trusted framework," the company said in a statement.

The arrangement is valid for three years, with a provision for extension by up to two additional years, in accordance with NICSI guidelines.

"Affordability enables adoption at scale. Public communication platforms must be designed so that cost does not become a barrier to wide deployment across departments," it said.

Onextel operates under both TRAI-exempted and non-exempted sender ID categories. This enables the company to support a wide range of official communication use cases, including transactional alerts, OTP-based authentication, public awareness campaigns, essential service notifications, and emergency communications.

"The NICSI engagement is expected to generate an annual revenue of approximately Rs 110 to 125 crore," a company official said.

Beyond conventional SMS delivery, the empanelment also covers two-way messaging and Rich Communication Services (RCS), enabling more interactive and responsive communication models where required, the statement said. PTI PRS HVA