TCS front runner in bid to upgrade India's Government e-Marketplace portal

Indian IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), along with tech company Intellect Design Arena, are the front-runners in a keenly contested bid to upgrade the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, an initiative of the Indian government.

The objective of this bid is to transform the digital public procurement portal into a more advanced version, elevating its position in the global ranking, sources told PTI.

GeM, launched in 2016 by the Commerce Ministry, is a platform that facilitates online purchases of goods and services by central government departments and ministries. However, the five-year contract awarded to a private consortium, which includes Intellect Design Arena and Infibeam Avenues Ltd, for the development and maintenance of the platform is due to expire this year. Thus, the government opened tenders for the portal's development in early 2023.

Post bid scrutiny, TCS and Intellect Design Arena emerged as the contenders, qualifying in the technical stage. Both the companies filed their applications independently. Infibeam Avenues Ltd, which is currently involved in managing the portal, was disqualified as they could not submit the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) certificate. This certificate is a mandatory requirement in IT project tenders.

According to Infibeam's exchange filing, the company disclosed the receipt of an email from GeM rejecting their bid due to alleged non-fulfillment of pre-qualification criteria.

The technical presentations from TCS and Intellect Design Arena are scheduled for the coming week, and the decision on the contract is expected to be announced in June 2023.

In the fiscal year 2022-23, the GeM portal facilitated transactions worth Rs 2 lakh crore, indicating its growing significance in government procurement. GeM boasts over 63,000 government buyer organizations and over 6 crore sellers and service providers, offering a comprehensive range of products and services to government departments, public sector units, state governments, and central armed police forces.

Despite its broad functionality, GeM currently ranks third globally after Singapore's GeBIZ and South Korea's KONEPS. This contract award will determine the future course for the GeM portal and its standing on the global stage.

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