Government
Caring for Power
The bidding process for government not only teaches how to handle your client, but also the back-end governance AKANKSHA PRASAD
akankshap@cybermedia.co.in
I
t is an old theory that a country’s economic growth depends on its infrastructure. defense and, governance. and infrastructure has always remained a mandate for the center, making it one of the biggest prospects for the IT vendors. Under one such initiative the, Government of India proposed to establish an automated system for capturing accurate baseline data and introducing energy accounting. The R-APDRP project was launched in Karnataka by Shobha Karandlaje, Minister for Energy; the J&K state government announced extension of R-APDRP to 288 more towns and other areas; the Tamil Nadu government talked about changing old electricity meters for over 1.2 crore connections to new ones; and, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (PVVNL), Noida boasts of building an online electricity supply network. Indeed, the initiative has taken the shape of one of the government’s largest implementation project.
The Commencement
As per the details available, the ministry of power, under GoI, initiated private investments for setting up additional generating capacity. But lesser could be achieved in wake of inefficiencies and losses in the electricity distribution business in almost all states of the country. According to the data, the losses incurred by the boards were roughly `26,000 crore. Year 2000 saw a slew of reforms being announced around it, one of the major being the APDP (Accelerated Power Development Program), which was announced in 2001. 36 | May 15, 2012
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Government Status of Appointment of Implementation Agencies Across India S no. 1.
State AP
2.
Arunachal Pradesh Assam
4.
Bihar
3. 5.
Chandigarh
8.
Gujarat
6.
Chhattisgarh
7.
Goa
9.
Haryana
10. HP 11. J&K
12. Jharkhand 13. Kerala
14. Karnataka
15. Maharashtra 16. Manipur
17. Meghalaya 18. Mizoram
19. MP
20. Nagaland
21. Puducherry 22. Punjab
23. Rajasthan 24. Sikkim
25. Tamil Nadu 26. Tripura 27. UP
28. Uttrakhand 29. West Bengal
IT Implementation Agency SI
GSP
NSP
MDASP
Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Spanco
Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Rolta
Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Spanco
Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Secure Meters
Spanco Tata Consultancy Services
Rolta Tata Consultancy Services
Spanco Tata Consultancy Services
Secure Meters Tata Consultancy Services
KLG Systel
HCL Infosystems Wipro
HCL Infosystems Infosys Technologies L & T and Televant Energia, Spain Spanco Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Spanco
HCL Infosystems
Tata Consultancy Services ITI Ltd. & Navyuga Infotech Tata Consultancy Services HCL Technologies & Speck Systems Infinite Computer Solutions (India) & Phoenix IT Solutions Tata Consultancy Services
During the 10th Five Year Plan, GoI renamed it as APDRP (Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Program) and later to R-APDRP (Restructured APDRP) in the 11th Five Year Plan with revised terms and conditions. 38 | May 15, 2012
KLG Systel
NA
Wipro
RM Software India NIIT GIS
RM Software India Rolta Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services
Rolta RM Software India
Tata Consultancy Services Navyuga Infotech Tata Consultancy Services
Navyuga Infotech
Tata Consultancy Services
Same as Punjab
KLG Systel
KLG Systel
HCL Infosystems
HCL Infosystems
HCL Infosystems
HCL Infosystems
Infosys Technologies
Easun Reyrolle
Wipro
Wipro
L & T and Televant Energia Spain
L & T and Televant Energia Spain
Spanco Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Same as Tamil Nadu
Secure Meters Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services
Spanco
Secure Meters
HCL Infosystems
HCL Infosystems
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services Analogics Tech India
IBM (India)
Tata Consultancy Services HCL Technologies & Speck Systems
Tata Consultancy Services
Phoenix IT Solutions Tata Consultancy Services
What we have today as the R-APDRP is primarily aimed at increasing the benchmarks for the implementation and bringing down Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses especially in urban areas. Hence one of the visit www.dqindia.com
Secure Meters
Secure Meters
Tata Consultancy Services
Date of Award 31/03/2010 17/06/2011
17/06/2011 18/01/2011 15/11/2010
08/07/2011 08/10/2009 30/08/2010 20/01/2011 01/03/2011 17/12/2009 31/03/2010 13/10/2010 17/06/2011 17/06/2011 17/06/2011 4/2/2010
17/06/2011 29/04/2010 23/09/2009 24/05/2011 20/08/2010 17/06/2011 21/01/2010 11/01/2010 23/09/2009
necessary conditions was improvement in the performance. The proposal touched all urban areas, towns, and cities with population of more than 30,000 (10,000 in case of special category states); and rural areas with high-load density,
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agricultural feeders from domestic and industrial ones, etc. Major winners as IT implementation agency for the deals were Tata Consultancy Services with orders from Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mehgalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, MP, Nagaland Sikkim, Tripura, and West Bengal, followed by HCL Infosystems with similar orders from HP, Jharkhand, UP, and Rajasthan. A few other winning vendors were Spanco, Tulip Telecom, L&T, Secure Meters, Navayuga, etc. And the winners as IT consultants were Feedback Ventures and Mastek with deals from Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal, Gujarat (PGVCL), Arunachal, Kerala, and Assam, followed by Telecommunications Consultants India and Vayam Technologies with order from Bihar, Gujrat (DGVCL, MVGCL), Haryana (UHBVNL), HP, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, and UP (MVVNL). Few other winners were Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Reliance, NDPL, etc. Raghu Cavale, vice president and head, India Business shared that while the government projects have been on a roll, the company sees a healthy pipeline for consulting deals. Working for the government as buyer has its own pros and cons. It is well known that while government projects follow a transparent and process-oriented structure but once nailed, it is always worth the hard work. The process starts with the letter of intent, followed by request for proposal, followed by tendering and selection. Interestingly, the project requirements for the R-APDRP IT consultants panned from handholding the utility for implementation right from concept to commissioning. It involved assisting utilities in customizing the model bid document to deliver utility specific bid document, assisting ESCOMs in evaluation DATAQUEST | A CyberMedia Publication
Key Takeaways
n Government bidding needs attention to details and lookout for what buyer weighs on priority; cost, quality, services, innovation, relationship, or reputation n Unless the paperwork is complete and compliant to technical specifications, the bids do to reach the third stage, where cost count n Since every project is unique, it should be treated as new and handled meticulously
of hardware and software, and answering any queries raised by Nodal Agency/MoP, conducting the end-to-end process in selecting the IT implementation agency (NIT->Pre-bid conference->Bid submission->Technical and Commercial Evaluation-> Final Vendor Selection->Contractual assistance->appointment) and program management of the implementation, till complete go-live.
The Preparation
While one needs to pay attention to the details, the bidders need to look out for the tangible and intangible benchmarks. What is it that the buyer weighs on priority: Cost, quality, services, innovation, relationship, or reputation? Vidur Sehgal, CEO, government and power, Spanco says, “In the last few years, Spanco has been working on a number of large government projects and it is not easy to work with government as a buyer. We have gained a lot of experience now working with government, but it is still cumbersome as every project brings its own set of issues. The unique characteristic of each of the projects makes project management really challenging.” He pinpoints that the response to qualification requirements with completeness of paperwork, compliance to technical specifications and the quoted cost are 3 priority elements of the bidding. visit www.dqindia.com
He cautioned that the common perception among bidders is to put the cost first. But, it is important to understand that unless the first 2 conditions are met, the bids will not be able to reach the third stage. Sehgal shared another anecdote that many a times, the vendors face the same buyer, same government officials, but for a different project. And since every project is unique, it should be treated as new and handled meticulously. He says, “It is pertinent to read the RFP document word by word and prepare a checklist of all the documents to be submitted. While most organizations do prepare the checklist, it is often not updated when the corrigenda are published. This often leads to an incomplete paperwork and in many cases, to the rejection of bids. “Another important factor is to organize the bid for traceability of important documents and adding a proper index to it. In most cases, the bids are bulky and it is important to make volumes. Few very important but key factors related to hygiene include proper authorization for signing the bid, signature and seal as required, binding and packing of the bid. We have seen quite a few bids rejected as these were submitted in locked metal boxes, which was not as per the bidding requirements. Another most important factor is the arrangement of logistics for submission of the bid in time.” Proof of concept has its share of significance. It helps the service providers in understanding the requirements and building relationship with the buyer, many a times, they are involved in projects which requires more partner handholding, thereby demonstrating the technical and domain skills. With increasing spend on the government side and special thrust coming for infrastructure in the budget announcements, this is a huge pie to look out for. n May 15, 2012 | 39