Procurement by Public organizations like- Ministries, Banks, Defense, Federal Government, State Government, Municipal Corporations, Counties etc for the benefit of public and from the public fund is know as Public Procurement.

There are 3 main pillars of Public Procurement: Transparency, Efficiency and Equal Opportunity. In some cases the governments across the globe also give preference to local industry, specially the SME sector in order to achieve the social objectives and increase the participation of SME sector in main stream economy.

All these agencies provide soft loans and some cases grants also, to least developed and developing countries in the areas like: Education, Poverty reduction, healthcare, infrastructure development and in capacity building.

Based on Nature of items to be procured: Goods, Works and Services * Based on nature of participation: ICB (International Competitive Bidding). In this case companies from all eligible countries can participate. Whereas in case of Domestic (Or National) Competitive Bidding only Domestic companies can participate in that tender. * Based on Procurement Method: This depends purely on the complexity of the item to be procured. Accordingly different methods are used. Few examples are: Expression of Interest(EOI), RFQ(Request for Quote), RFP (Request of Proposal), Domestic Shopping, International Shopping etc. * Open or Closed/Limited Tender: If the tender is open that means any company can participate;subject to ICB/NCB. Whereas in case of Limited Tenders only previously qualified/shortlisted companies can participate.

No, he can not. If at all he wishes to then he has to forfeit his EMD.

The purchasers takes this amount to check the earnestness/seriousness of the bidders in case they are selected as winners. The EMD amount the bidder has to pay along with the bid response. It is one of the most Important document/instrument which a bidder is supposed to submit along with other documents. The format/instrument through which the EMD can be submitted, depends upon the purchaser's preference. Generally the EMD is sought in the form of bank guarantee or demand draft. In very limited cases an insurance bond is also accepted. The EMD value can be (again depends on purchaser's preference) a fixed amount Or a certain % of the bid price, which the bidder is quoting. The % varies from 1% to 5% but the typical value is 2%. In order to avoid any leakage of information among the bidders and hence bring more transparency and efficiency in purchasing process the purchaser's now are asking for a fixed value instead of % of bid price. EMD instrument is returned back to all unsuccessful bidders once the evaluation is completed and the contract is signed by the successful bidder. In case of successful bidder, EMD is exchanged by Security Deposit (around 10% of the bid price). Only in cases where the successful bidder refuse to sign the contract and fails to submit the security deposit, the EMD is forfeited. In case of EOI and pre-qualification rounds, EMD is not asked by the purchasers.

BG is one of the various modes (or instrument) for taking EMD or Security deposit. BG is preferred for higher amount, while for smaller amount other instruments are use viz: DD, Cash, Insurance Bond etc

The bidder can’t do much. In certain cases the tendering authority allow the bidder to withdraw their bid. The delay can be on account of poor response, certain modifications/amendments in the bid terms and conditions etc.

A tender document is the document which contains all terms and condition of the items/services to be procured by the purchaser. It generally includes: Terms and conditions, scope of supply, bill of quantity, format for agreement, Earnest Money Deposit, Security Deposit, do’s, don’t do’s, special condition of contract, general conditions of contract, payment terms, delivery time and locations etc.

Buying is generally used for small items and specifically in cases where the specification/scope of the product/services is established and the sources are also well known. whereas in case of procurement the items to be acquired can be much much more complicated, the completion or supply duration can be years. Let me explain the different in even much simpler term: You buy potatoes whereas you procure consultancy services or a Solar Power Plant.

There are few very important things the prospective bidder should keep in mind: 1. He must read the qualification criterion first, so as to assure that he posses all the required qualifications and his bid is not rejected during the evaluation process. 2. The Second most important thing you should keep in mind is that you comply with all the terms and conditions of the bid and submit all relevant documents asked for. 3. The third most important thing is, you submit the bid well in time. Most bidders miss the deadline and loose precious opportunities. 4. The forth most important point is-you do not submit the conditional bid. Like if you give me payment in advance, I will do this….

As such there are no challenge. We all are living in a modern society and hence have granted equality. If you find any abnormality at any stage of tendering process you can definitely raise the issue at relevant forum.

This is also some times referred as approximate value or tender budget. Tender value is the approximate amount in which, the purchaser think they can procure the tendered item.

Tendering is the process, generally followed by the government organizations/public entities for their procurement purpose. The only difference is that in case of earlier one the response is submitted in hard copy format wheere as in case of later one the response is submitted through electronic media ie: online

Before we specifically answer this question, we would like to explain two envelop tenders as well in short: Two Envelop System: This process is followed in cases where technical specifications are pre-determined. Now only the two things namely: Eligibility criterion of the bidders and the financial offer is needs to be evaluated. As far as opening the is concerned, obviously the envelop one containing eligibility criterion is opened first and the financial proposal of only those who meet the qualification criterion are opened. And the tender is awarded to the most economical bidder. Three Envelop System: In this case the bidder are asked to submit the documents as below: Envelope 1 : Documents related to eligibility criteria. Envelope 2 : Technical bid. Envelope 3 : Financial bid. The envelops are opened in sequence, that means first, second and then third. Through the documents submitted in envelop one the eligibility criterion of the bidders is ascertained. Envelop 2 will be opened of only those bidders who meets the qualification criterion. At this stage technical offer of all the Eligible bidders is opened. generally at pre-defined date a conference is arranged to discuss the various offer to discuss the merits and demerits of the technical offers. The bidders who offer the most viable and technologically superior technical solution are declared. All successful bidders at this stage are now asked to modify their financial bids, if required, as the technical specification has changed. Envelope 3 will be opened of only those successful bidders at stage 2. And the contract is awarded to the most economical bidder. Let me give you one example: For example a state utility wants to set us a 660 MW Thermal Power Plant. Now there may be few different options (depending upon unit size, technology, coal quality availability etc) by which this plant of this size can be installed. Some may offer 3 units of 210 MW each with locally available coal, some may offer a single unit of 660 MW and some may offer 660 MW single unit of Super Critical plant with high CV imported coal. There might be so many evaluation parameters by which the final option will be selected. These may be: Outgo of Forex (if the equipment needs to be imported), Patern of load/demand, land availability, local employment, gestation period etc.

On 23rd March, 2012, through Notification No 503, Ministry of Micro, Small and medium Enterprises published a order in The Gazette of India: Extraordinary; defining the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). The order came in to effect from 1St April 2012. Through the order it was mandated that all Central Ministries/departments/Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) shall target to procure 20% of their annual budget, through Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE). It was made mandatory from 1St April 2015 to procure 20% from MSE. There are 358 items which were kept aside as exclusive preserve of micro and small enterprises. In order to take advantages of the benefits, the MSE must be registered with any of the agencies: District Industries Centers, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Khadi and Village Industries Board, Coir Board, National Small Industries Corporation, Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom, Any other body specified by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Since Indian Railway is a Central Ministry, they also published ( Through Railway Board) the Notification dated 5Th July 2012, No: 2010/RS(G)/363/1 with regard to price preference to be given to MSE. Though the complete policy can be found on various websites, below are the salient features of the policy: Free availability of Tender Document No Need to pay Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) Even if MSE quote 15% more than L1+15%, 20% of the the total order will be given to MSE provided they match L1 price.

Though, each and every government organization will have it's own procurement procedure, but in general public procurement across the globe, follow few basic principles: Transparency, Equal opportunity, value for money and money to be spent only for the purpose it is intended for. In case of only one response, generally all government entities will go for re-tender. But even after re-tendering there is only one response then depending upon the value of item to be purchased, price quoted by the bidder and urgency of the procurement, they may award the contract to the single bidder.

For winning IT projects you need to first make sure that you get all relevant tenders on regular basis. There are couple of services Tenders content aggregator in India but most comprehensive is: Government Tenders Online, Worldwide Tenders E Procurement Notices. Once you have the tenders notification, you can decide for which tenders you meet the qualification criterion? Then accordingly you can prepare the bid and submit to the relevant authority. Now a days public procurement is moving towards E Procurement, that means you need to submit your response electronically on the purchaser’s online line tendering platform.

Writing a successful and winning bid is not only tricky but some times depends on ones skills and luck as well. :) However you should keep below points in mind while preparing your response: Your relative positing with respect to other prospective bidders. Analyse their strengths and weakness. Some authorities publish the list of company’s which have purchased the tender document. Market condition vis a vis the industry you operate in. Squeeze your cost and bring it to the minimum. You can do by taking in to consideration all available incentives, tax subsidy etc. Build a reasonable profit margin. Don’t be greedy and think from long term perspective. If it a consultancy assignment then they will generally evaluate the responses based on QCBS (Quality Cum Cost Based Selection). Go for evaluation criterion, know your strengths and prepare the bid accordingly. If you are new to tendering then it is better to utilize the services of experts or at-least get your bid response cross verified. If you have any doubt any where in the bid, seek clarifications from the purchasers. Please do not make any assumption.

Tough it depends upon the specific terms defined in the tender document, but most important document is: Your registration Certificate from any of the below mentioned Govt institutes: District Industries Centers, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Khadi and Village Industries Board, Coir Board, National Small Industries Corporation, Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom, Any other body specified by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

No, there is no provision. Actually we should understand the rationale behind charging the tender document fee. The tender document fee is charged to cover the expenses incurred in preparing the same. The same is divided by approximate number of bidders who might purchase the tender document.

Every tender will have different qualification criteria. So if your company in tendering, then can should start with local, small value tenders and build your credentials. Another way is to get yourself registered with different agencies/organizations like: CPWD, State PWD, Irrigation Dept, Bridge and Road dept etc.