The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to invite Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for a second round of bidding for its e-governance project which was earlier awarded to the IT major. UGC is also planning to implement this project in phases.
TCS had received a clearance for the Rs 230-250 crore deal on March 13, 2009, that involved making UGC’s functioning more transparent.
Members of the UGC and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had earlier expressed opposition to the deal being signed with TCS.
“Considering the size of the project, we had suggested that it should be taken on a pilot basis and expanded in phases. But UGC was in a hurry to award the contract to TCS. Now, there will be re-bidding and the proposal will come to the committee meeting for discussion,” said a ministry source.
The source further said that earlier there was opposition to the project as UGC did not follow the due diligence process.
A TCS executive said: “The company does not wish to comment, as it is in a silent period.” Wipro was the other player in the race for the deal.
Indian IT firms have increased their focus in the domestic market. Within this e-governance has constitutes a large pie. With a re-bidding in offing players like Wipro, Infosys and several others will again root for the contracts, say market experts.
Some of the largest deals in the last few months have emerged from the domestic market. For instance, the Rs 1,182-crore e-governance order from the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation bagged by Wipro Technologies or the Rs 2,200-crore, nine-year contract with Unitech Wireless. Similarly, towards the end of 2008, TCS had signed Rs 1,000 crore e-passport deal.
