TCS wins Rs85 crore Indian Bank contract for rural banking solution

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has won a Rs85 crore contract for implementation of a financial inclusion solution for Indian Bank.

The project, based on smart card and cloud computing technologies, would enable the bank to offer rural banking services across 5,500 villages, according to the software exporter.

The deal would cover a three-year period and TCS would provide the technology infrastructure, handheld devices and business correspondents to help the bank extend its coverage to rural population.

The handheld devices would support biometric authentication for verification of personal identities.

According to Indian Bank chairman TN Bhasin, the partnership would help it take banking services to 11.92 lakh households that do not have access to banking, ie, around 23 lakh people.

"We see this as a strong catalyst in creating an unprecedented economic opportunity while driving the social agenda of inclusive growth across the country," added N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, TCS.