About a dozen foreign and Indian players in race for UID's managed services contract
Market watchers say the size of the contract could be Rs 2,000-2,500 crore
The seven-year contract covers development of Central ID Data Repository, and procurement and installation of IT infrastructure among other functions
the seven-year contract is by far the largest one from UID stable.
Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee
New Delhi, Aug. 27
The UID tender for selection of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) has attracted the best and the brightest of the IT business.
Global companies such as HP and IBM as well as large Indian vendors, including TCS and Wipro, have submitted their initial bids to participate in the mega tender for selection of MSP who would implement the Central ID Data Repository (CIDR).
While market watchers peg the opportunity at Rs 2,000-2,500 crore, some industry experts feel that the exact size of the contract will become more clear at the Request for Proposal stage, when all aspects of the contract are clarified. That said the seven-year contract is by far the largest one from UID stable.
Firms in the race
On Friday, almost a dozen companies submitted their EoIs. Apart from the four vendors, Accenture, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra Satyam, Verizon, Cognizant, HCL Infosystems, HCL Technologies, and Steria are also said to be in the race. Many of these companies would form consortiums with specialised vendors in coming weeks.
According to the terms laid down by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the MSP will be responsible for development and implementation of the CIDR system; procurement and installation of the IT infrastructure; implementation of information security management systems; and operations support and maintenance.
The scope of the work also includes technical helpdesk, support services and database administration.
The UID project, seeks to hand out unique identification numbers to 1.2 billion residents in India over the next few years and CIDR is the nerve centre of this ambitious project – it will implement the core services around the UID, store resident records, issue the UID number, verify, authenticate and amend the resident data.
Norms eased
Recently, the UIDAI had eased the norms for prime bidders under this contract – a move that came as a breather to mid-sized firms, allowing them to position themselves as lead respondents. The original criteria had called for an annual turnover of Rs 6,000 crore over last three financial year for prime respondents, but this was later scaled down to Rs 4,000 crore.
“However, there are still lot of issues that need to be clarified, and some of that will come at the RFP stage. For instance, will the other UID contracts which currently have a duration of two years, come under the MSP's ambit after the stipulated two year period is over, or will they be retained as individual projects,” pointed out a source, who is familiar with the contract. Clarity on issues like this, the source said, would help in estimating the exact scale of the contract.
UID officials could not be reached for comments.
moumita@thehindu.co.in
New Delhi, Aug. 27
The UID tender for selection of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) has attracted the best and the brightest of the IT business.
Global companies such as HP and IBM as well as large Indian vendors, including TCS and Wipro, have submitted their initial bids to participate in the mega tender for selection of MSP who would implement the Central ID Data Repository (CIDR).
While market watchers peg the opportunity at Rs 2,000-2,500 crore, some industry experts feel that the exact size of the contract will become more clear at the Request for Proposal stage, when all aspects of the contract are clarified. That said the seven-year contract is by far the largest one from UID stable.
Firms in the race
On Friday, almost a dozen companies submitted their EoIs. Apart from the four vendors, Accenture, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra Satyam, Verizon, Cognizant, HCL Infosystems, HCL Technologies, and Steria are also said to be in the race. Many of these companies would form consortiums with specialised vendors in coming weeks.
According to the terms laid down by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the MSP will be responsible for development and implementation of the CIDR system; procurement and installation of the IT infrastructure; implementation of information security management systems; and operations support and maintenance.
The scope of the work also includes technical helpdesk, support services and database administration.
The UID project, seeks to hand out unique identification numbers to 1.2 billion residents in India over the next few years and CIDR is the nerve centre of this ambitious project – it will implement the core services around the UID, store resident records, issue the UID number, verify, authenticate and amend the resident data.
Norms eased
Recently, the UIDAI had eased the norms for prime bidders under this contract – a move that came as a breather to mid-sized firms, allowing them to position themselves as lead respondents. The original criteria had called for an annual turnover of Rs 6,000 crore over last three financial year for prime respondents, but this was later scaled down to Rs 4,000 crore.
“However, there are still lot of issues that need to be clarified, and some of that will come at the RFP stage. For instance, will the other UID contracts which currently have a duration of two years, come under the MSP's ambit after the stipulated two year period is over, or will they be retained as individual projects,” pointed out a source, who is familiar with the contract. Clarity on issues like this, the source said, would help in estimating the exact scale of the contract.
UID officials could not be reached for comments.
moumita@thehindu.co.in
