Tata group company was lone bidder
CL Jose
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s more than three years since the hunt for an implementing agency was launched to bring the thousands of branches of the primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) under a uniform software system.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was the only bidder qualified and this necessitated the government to go for the single tender process.
A recent government circular has confirmed that the Rs206.44 crore price bid from TCS has also been approved, clearing the way for the software implementation project and removing all obstacles.
Out of the Rs206.44 crore earmarked for the project, Rs71.87 crore will be the monthly usage fee for SaaS (software as a service) implementation and service for the 4,425 branches of PACS spread across the state, and this will be borne by the PACS themselves.
In fact, the state Cabinet had decided to appoint TCS as the implementing agency about 8 months ago, though the pricing part was not finalised then.
The search for an implementing agency was initiated after the state cabinet, about three years ago, decided to go ahead with its scheme rather than be a part of the Central scheme.
The state government has justified this decision by noting that the state’s cooperative sector has a wider variety and more innovative programmes and that PACS are invariably linked to Kerala Bank.
No sufficient bidders
Right from the beginning itself, the tender process met with challenges, the main being the absence of bidders. The request for proposal (RFP) having failed to attract a single bidder, the government decided to change the pre-qualification conditions.’
Still, TCS happened to be the only bidder. Following the initial tender, a finance committee was formed to look into the pricing aspect. The committee made sure that the Central Government pricing guidelines dated October 29, 2021 based on the principle – prices are reasonable in comparison to market value – are complied with.
