# Centre eases norms for domestic firms in government consultancy contracts 2026-08-12T15:48:51+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The finance ministry has directed all central government ministries to ease eligibility criteria for consultancy contracts, giving domestic firms a level playing field against global giants like Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG. A sample study of GeM tenders found that procuring entities often set turnover thresholds five to ten times the project cost, gave disproportionate weight to firm experience, and demanded minimum staff strength far beyond actual project needs. The revised norms ask ministries to make eligibility criteria commensurate with project requirements, and defer evaluation of key personnel qualifications to the request for proposal stage instead of the expression of interest stage. ## Coverage - livemint.com - thehindubusinessline.com Tags: Atmanirbhar Bharat, Big Four, consulting firms, GeM, government contracts, procurement norms Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/centre-relaxes-norms-for-domestic-firms-to-bid-for-consultancy-contracts/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/centre-relaxes-norms-for-domestic-firms-to-bid-for-consultancy-contracts/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.