Now Reading: Centre eases norms for domestic firms in government consultancy contracts
-
01
Centre eases norms for domestic firms in government consultancy contracts
Centre eases norms for domestic firms in government consultancy contracts
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.…
The Story in Brief
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.
The Indian Opinion
The finance ministry's move to curb Big Four dominance in government contracts is welcome, but the narrative that it is a blow to global firms is overblown. For years, inflated turnover and payroll clauses effectively created a closed club. The real test is whether procuring entities will now genuinely apply the new criteria, or find new ways to tilt the field. Will the next GeM tender for a complex project actually invite bids from a mid-sized Indian firm? That single data point will settle the question.
Sources (2): livemint.com, thehindubusinessline.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
