BSNL Awards Nokia 1,000 Crore Order barring Indian Companies.
BSNL, known for supporting Indian companies, is reportedly planning to award Nokia a Rs 1000 crore contract. This move would contradict the government’s push for self-reliance or Aatmanirbharta. UTL was also bidding for the contract but did not cut it as it is not on the government’s ‘trusted sources’ list.
“It (BSNL) has even not opened a bid by UTL-C-DoT, saying it had no trusted product which, however, can only be applied through a service provider, and their (BSNL) intent is apparently in contradiction to the government’s vision of promoting India-made telecom gear,” Bhatnagar said.
The tender Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) issued for its current project has laid down a crucial requirement for the companies to be on the Trusted Sources list of the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). However, according to industry reports, the order is expected to be granted to Nokia, subject to fulfilling the specified criteria. BSNL had opened participation to foreign companies, as the order value exceeded Rs 200 crore. BSNL will likely award the advance purchase order (APO) to the successful bidder in the coming days. Interestingly, Tejas Networks submitted the lone bid earlier this year, but BSNL had to cancel it due to prevailing norms prohibiting a single bidder.
As per the provisions of the Make in India (PMI) framework, Indian companies are eligible for a price relaxation of up to 20% to secure 50% of the order. Bhatnagar pointed out that Tejas’ bid was nearly 21% higher. Tejas’ bid was almost 21% higher. But as per the preference for the Make in India (PMI) framework, Indian companies can have a price relaxation of up to 20% to receive 50% of the order, said Bhatnagar.
“This is a very unfortunate situation and discourages Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). BSNL has disqualified United Telecoms Limited (UTL) and Tejas Networks on shoddy grounds as well as tweaked the original terms and conditions to suit foreign companies,” said Rakesh Kumar Bhatnagar, Director General, Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for Atmanirbhar Bharat and encouraging domestic manufacturing for worldwide markets. New Delhi has partnered with Washington to promote research and commercial opportunities for Indian companies. However, Nokia is set to receive a multi-year purchase order worth Rs 1,000 crore from BSNL for OTN equipment deployment through a local system integrator, followed by the disqualification of United Telecoms Limited (UTL) and Tejas Networks on questionable grounds. BSNL has also allegedly tweaked the original terms and conditions to favor foreign vendors. However, the decision may be seen as a setback to Indian-US efforts to explore research and commercial opportunities for Indian businesses.
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