The project will support all types of Hydro logical, meteorological, groundwater and water quality stations including Automatic Weather Stations; Automatic Rain Gauges; Water Level recorders like Radar, Bubbler, Shaft Encoder, Pressure transducer, ultrasonic sensor for Rivers, Dams and Barrages, Canals; Groundwater Level (DWLR), water quality probes, flow meters, ADCPs, current meters etc
A detailed HIS manual has been prepared to guide selection of instrument, selection of site, choosing telemetry etc; and is available on project website. For link to HIS manual,
The list of vendors is available on project website under componant A. There is a link for new vendors to register as well. For the list of registered Vendors,
eSWIS is software developed by CWC under HP-II to store, quality control and manage all kind of Surface Water Data. It is an online system based on cloud server and have modules for data entry, quality check, hydrology, meteorology, reservoir etc. The attached document lists various features of eSWIS The Link to eSWIS Document
eSWIS has all modules related to Surface water Hydrology, which includes hydrology sites, meteorology sites, reservoirs, data quality check and validation, manual data entry etc. The detailed list of modules and description of each module are available in presentation Click here to Download eSWIS Presentation (32 MB)
Password for eSWIS would be provided to each state on request. For password request, please contact: Director, River Data Compilation -2 Directorate, Central Water Commission, West Block – 1, Ground Floor, Wing No – 4, Rama Krishna Puram, New Delhi 110066 (E-mail:- rdc2dte-cwc@gov.in, nswdc-cwc@nic.in, Fax No+91-11-29583483, Telephone + 91-11-29583483)

The Implementing Agency (IA) can only undertake activities and items which are mentioned in the AWP and PP. Therefore if activities are not mentioned in the AWP & PP, the AWP and PP have to be amended and required approval from NPMU/World Bank needs to be obtained to include such activities and items.

The PP is a dynamic document and can be modified to include/exclude any procurements, subject to the approval of the NPMU/World Bank. The AWP and the PP may be amended mid-course during the year provided that for amending the AWP the IA shall obtain the approval of the NPMU and for amending the PP, the approval of the World Bank has to be taken.

Each agency must open only one Bank account for the purpose of NHP.

Method of Procurement

Threshold for Methods (USD)

Competitive Selection

Must meet the requirements of Section V, Para 5.1

 to 5.5 of the Consultant's Guidelines

Single Source Selection (SSS)

Must meet the requirements of Section V, Para 5.6

 of the Consultant's Guidelines and with prior

 agreement in PP with the Bank

Prior review (mandatory):

All procurements estimated to cost more than

USD 0.3 million (i.e. INR 19.5 lakh)

Four Databases have been prepared to cover existing hydromet stations in India. The stations are classified into four categories: Weather Stations, Precipitation Stations, Surface Water Level Stations (Hydrology), and Groundwater Level Stations. For link to Google Earth map of existing hydromet stations,
Yes, The project will support manual stations to Automatic and Automatic Stations without telemetry to stations with telemetry. In case of upgrade from manual station to Automatic, new instruments would be installed at same location. However, the old manual stations should be continued to operate for validation of data of new station. I case of upgrade of non telemetry station to telemetry, a new transmission equipment would be attached to datalogger.
First preference should be given to upgrade of old manual station to automatic, so that site selection is not required. For new Meteorological sites, preference should be given to secure locations like govt buildings, guest houses, inspection houses, block or tehsil offices, department divisional offices etc. For hydrological sites, appropriate site should be selected near river where 6 feet X 6 feet land is available. A detailed procedure for site selection is available in HIS manual. For link to HIS manual,
The standard bid document for procurement of goods under National Competitive bidding available in procurement section. Some example bid documents prepared by various agencies are also available on project website for quick guidance. For Example bid documents,
The majority of Hydromet stations will have one of the three telemetry options: GSM/GPRS, INSAT Radio, VSAT. The details of these telemetry options, criteria for selection, advantages and disadvantages of each are available in HIS manual. For link to HIS manual,
Side looking dopplers is type of Accostic Doppler device that provide velocity at given depth or section. Velocity Radar is similar non contact instrument to measure surface velocity on open channels. They are costly equipment but are very useful in situations where discharge is not a function of velocity. The example of such situation is coastel river, where flow direction can be positive or negative, depending on tides. In that situation, water level would be same of flow in positive direction and negative direction, making velocity measurement an important indicator.
Yes the scanned copy of Fees receipt for Online Payment/Bid Security/Bid Securing Declaration is acceptable. This exception has been made in view of the prevailing Pandemic. Originals have to be however submitted by the Bidder immediately upon their request by the Purchaser and before the start of Technical Bid Evaluation.
Yes. contract agreement and LoA should be uploaded in MIS.
Yes GST Rates are variable based on Rates fixed as per HSN Codes. In this context it is pointed that the GST rates are excluding Evaluation.
In case of SSS does an IA need to give the justification in World Bank format on STEPS alongwith uploading a draft TOR of the activity.
The selection of INSAT radio vs VSAT based satellite telemetry depends on many factors like location, availability of space, requirement of one way or two way communication etc. A comparison of two telemetry methods based on these parameters is provided in the attached document Click here to download Document
The cloud server offers many advantages over using physical servers; major being Scalability, security, maintenance, cost and backup. A brief note on cloud server is available for download. This note provides comparison of physical server vs cloud server, approximate cost of cloud services, explanation of various parameters for designing specifications for cloud services. Click here to download the Brief Note

As per the World Bank Guidelines the criteria is to be limited to those that are essential to ensure the firm’s capability to fulfil the contract in question.

The model bid document for consultants prescribes the factors that may be taken into account while evaluating the technical experience of the consultant bidder which are namely: specific experience of the Consultant (as a firm) relevant to the assignment, adequacy and quality of the proposed methodology of the consultant and the work plan in responding to the Terms of Reference, key experts’ qualifications and competence for the assignment, transfer of knowledge (training) program and participation by nationals among proposed key experts.

The bidding document may enlist specific technical criteria to be fulfilled based on the aforementioned parameters.

According to the World Bank Guidelines if a bid is not substantially responsive, that is if it contains material deviations from or reservations to the terms, conditions, and specifications in the bidding documents, it shall not be considered further. The bidder shall neither be permitted nor invited by the IA to correct or withdraw material deviations or reservations once bids have been opened.

As per the model bid document for Goods, deviations from critical provisions such as those concerning Performance Security, Warranty, Force Majeure, Limitation of liability, Governing Law and Taxes & Duties will be deemed to be a material deviation.

As per the Guidelines in case of non-responsiveness on account of non-material deviations, clarifications may be sought. However, such clarifications shall not result in changing the substance or the price of the bid.

For the national shopping method, the quotes shall only be in Indian Rupees (INR) and not in multi-currency quotes.
The IA may undertake the force account method of procurement whereby works such as construction and installation of equipment may be conducted by a government department in India using the personnel and equipment of the IA itself. However, to change method of procurement, the approval of the World Bank has to be taken by the IA justifying the need to use force account method.
In case of shopping method of procurement of works, subcontracting shall not be allowed.
The bid evaluation reports of the IA shall be evaluated by the NPMU only for prior review cases of procurement.
Yes, there is a model bidding document/ standard form available.
No, there is no model bidding document/ standard form available.
In the case of contracts for: (a) large complex facilities awarded as single responsibility (including as turnkey) contracts for the design, supply and installation, or single responsibility contracts for the supply and installation of a facility or plant; (b) works of a complex and special nature; or (c) complex information and communication technology that are subject to rapid technology advances, it may be undesirable or impractical to prepare complete technical specifications in advance. Due to the complex nature of such contracts and in order to avoid deviations from the Borrower’s specifications, the World Bank may require the IA to utilize a two-stage bidding procedure. First, unpriced technical proposals on the basis of a conceptual design or performance specifications are invited, subject to technical as well as commercial clarifications and adjustments, to be followed by amended bidding documents and the submission of final technical and priced bids in the second stage.

The World Bank Guidelines and the NHP Manual only state that there must be a minimum of three quotations in the shopping method and that the said three firms shall be reputable, well established and are suppliers of the goods or services (which are being procured), as part of their normal business. Since shopping procurement method is to be utilized for readily available, off the shelf goods and standard specification commodities or simple civil works, the Guidelines prescribe that the request for quotations shall indicate the description and quantity of the goods or specifications of works, as well as desired delivery (or completion) time and place. The IA may provide such qualification criteria in the Bid document for Shopping that are in alignment with the WB procurement guidelines and that have appropriate safeguards.

Additionally, as per the GFR 2017 the criteria for eligibility and qualifications such as minimum level of experience, past performance, technical capability, manufacturing facilities and financial capability/position etc. should be met by the bidders. However, given the small nature of procurement, the bidder doing the relevant activity/supply in its normal course of business for a specified number of years prior to bid due date should suffice. However, in case the bid document for shopping has been used, the eligibility criteria as specified in the bid document should be scrupulously followed to determine the eligibility.

This may amount to a change in the AWP and thus the approval of the NPMU is required to be taken before effecting this change.
If the NPMU has provided technical specifications (for instance, as provided in the case of Hydro-met equipment etc.) the IAs will be required to follow the NPMU approved technical specifications. In case the NPMU has not provided technical specifications, then the IAs may propose their own technical specifications after assessing their requirements meanwhile ensuring adequate safeguards are in place in order to comply with the core principles of the procurement.

The WB Guidelines provide that during the process of bid evaluation, for contracts for goods, non-consultancy services and works, the bid price shall be presumed to be inclusive of all taxes, duties and levies.

However, for the purpose of consultancy services the Guidelines provide that, during price evaluation, the offered prices shall exclude all local identifiable indirect taxes on the contract and income tax payable in India on the remuneration of services rendered in India by non-resident experts and other personnel of the consultant. In exceptional circumstances, when indirect taxes cannot be fully identified by the IA when evaluating the financial offers, the World Bank may agree that prices, for the purpose of evaluation only, include all taxes payable to India.

Since all Indirect Taxes have now been merged into GST which has uniform rate of tax all over India, the Bid Price should be considered exclusive of all taxes. Further, the Income tax payable on services rendered by NRI shall be governed by Section 9 of the Income Tax Act and the provisions of the specific Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty signed with the country where the amount is being remitted. The Income Tax shall be examined on the basis of incidence of tax.

An extension of bid validity, if justified by exceptional circumstances, shall be requested by the IA, in writing, from all bidders before the expiration date. The extension shall be for the minimum period required to complete the evaluation, obtain the necessary no objections, and award the contract. In the case of fixed price contracts, requests for second and subsequent extensions may be permissible only if the IA has provided an appropriate mechanism as provided in the World Bank’s relevant SBD to adjust the quoted price of the winning bidder to reflect any increase in the cost of inputs for the contract over the period of extension.

Whenever an extension of bid validity period is requested, bidders shall not be requested or be permitted to change the quoted (base) price or other conditions of their bid. Bidders shall have the right to refuse to grant such an extension.

In case of NCB method of procurement, the extension of bid validity shall not be allowed with respect to contracts without the prior review of the World Bank (i) for the first request for extension, if it is longer than 4 weeks; and (ii) for all subsequent requests for extension irrespective of the period.

Yes, provided that the Procurement Plan is amended/modified to reflect the change. Also, the approval of the NPMU/World Bank will be required to make such a modification.
Besides approval from the World Bank (in case it is required), IA is required to take approval from the competent authority in their own system as per power delegated prior to the final award of the contract.

GST is to be charged on the sale of goods and services at pre-defined rates by the Supplier or Service Provider on the completion of transaction or services. GST can only be charged by a person who is registered under the GST Act and the related rules and the GST paid Invoice for the sale of goods or sale of services is to be issued by him. Every person whose total turnover or gross receipt of services is more than Rs. 20 lac per annum or likely to be more than Rs. 20 lac per annum is required to be registered under the GST Act. If a person is not registered under the GST Act, he cannot charge GST and also cannot issue the GST paid Invoice.

As per the GST Rules, if the cost of the Bidding Document is quoted “Inclusive of GST”, the rate and amount of GST is also required to be disclosed. For the purpose of issue of Invoice/Cash where GST has been charged, it should be in the approved format and must have all the requisite details like GST Registration no., complete address as per GST Registration Certificate, PAN No., HSN Code of the goods or services and the GST rate. However, if IA is not registered under GST, which is a normal case, no GST is to be charged for sale of bidding documents.

Yes, the bid may have provision for supply and installation of equipment at multiple locations provided that the locations are clearly mentioned in the bidding documents.
The costs for newspaper advertising and digital signatures may be accommodated under the IA’s operating expenditure or the specific procurement activity head.

The IA shall try and find the reason for no bidder participation. The IA may advertise the tender in a different newspaper with wider circulation or if it is of the opinion that the qualification criteria was too stringent and reduced bidder participation, it may revise the qualification criteria to encourage bidder participation with adequate safeguards in place and without compromising on the quality of outputs and obtaining no objection from the Bank if required.

If there is no bidder participation even after this, other methods of procurement may be availed of, including direct contracting with the approval of NPMU/World Bank.

The IAs shall be permitted to adopt physical submission as per the World Bank Guidelines. Although typically the NPMU encourages e-procurement (provided it is compliant with the World Bank system) but in some cases, this may not be possible due to various reasons such as the procurement portal/system not being compliant as determined by the World Bank such that the integrity, confidentiality, and authenticity of bids submitted could be compromised. In such cases only physical submission of bids shall be permitted. IA’s whose procurement portal has been approved by the World Bank shall carry out procurement only through the e-procurement portal.

As per the model bid document for goods, the insurance coverage is only for loss or damage to the goods during carriage till the commissioning and acceptance by the procurer. Thereafter the responsibility for insurance shall lie with the procurer (in this case, IA). Therefore, during the O&M and AMC period, the responsibility for security of the goods shall lie with the procurer. Responsibility for liaison may be allocated to the contractor/supplier during the O&M and AMC period.

The specific coverage to be provided by the insurance policy (theft, etc.) shall depend on the terms and conditions of the insurance contract. Apart from insurance, the procurer can adopt certain indigenous measures such as fencing, high mast installation etc. to cover its risks (including the risk of theft) which need to be incorporated in the bidding documents. This assessment is required to be made by the IA on a case to case basis.

As per the model bid document for works, the cash flow requirements is to be determined based on the liquidity sufficient to meet the cash flow requirements (to the extent of 3 months peak cash flow requirement). This shall not take into account any contractual advance payment and the bidder’s other commitments. For the purpose of fulfilment of the turnover criterion, the IA may ask for submission of the Audited financial statements and the Certificate from Statutory Auditors for the relevant financial years from the Bidder.
Yes, foreign bidders may participate in NCB Bidding provided that the payment shall be offered to such foreign bidders in Indian Rupees and all the conditions that are applicable to the domestic participants shall also apply to the foreign bidder.
The World Bank Guidelines and the NHP Manual does not prescribe a specific limit for liquidated damages, but in the model bid document for procurement of goods and non-consultation services, the damages is capped at 10% of the contract price. The model bid document states that damages are calculated at the rate of 0.5% of the contract price for every week’s delay or part thereof. However, it may be noted that the rate of liquidated damages is determined according to the duration of the contract.
As per the provisions of the GST Act and related rules, if the seller or service provider is registered under the GST Act, the GST rate for the Tender Document is 18% and the amount so collected is to be deposited with the CBEC on the specified date and the required GSTR is required to be filed as per the dates announced by the GST Council. However, if the IA is not registered under GST, which is usually the case, no GST is to be charged for sale of bidding documents.
A minimum of three quotations/bids are required for proceeding with evaluation for shopping procurement method. The three bids shall be valid and responsive.
Procurement activities need to be reviewed by the NPMU for all prior review cases. Besides prior review cases, IA needs to share all hydro-met related bid documents to the NPMU for no objection on the hydro-met network, communication system and payment mechanism. Also, for the procurements which are not falling under prior review, compliance with the WB guidelines for shopping procurement must be ensured and NPMU/World Bank may post review the activity. In case of any deviation from the World Bank Guidelines, the World Bank may declare mis-procurement.
This can be done subject to the amendment of the AWP and the PP. The amendment to the PP shall require prior approval of the World Bank while the amendment of the AWP shall require the approval of the NPMU.
The method of procurement for hiring an architect for small building works may be by way of an individual consultant who is an architect or by way of hiring an architecture firm. In case of individual consultant, Chapter V of the World Bank Guidelines for the Selection and Employment of Consultants shall be applicable while in case of architecture firm CQS method of procurement may be used.
Arbitration in India is regulated by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended from time to time). However, arbitration is mentioned in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India and therefore any state law on arbitration which has received assent of the President of India shall apply in that state until and to the extent it is superseded by a subsequent Central law. Therefore, the IA may follow the state law for arbitration after the IA submits to the World Bank the copy of the specific state law and obtain no objection on the same.
Two or three envelope system cannot be used (except when using the e-procurement system assessed and agreed by the World Bank).
Except with the prior permission of the World Bank, there shall be no negotiations conducted by the procurer with the lowest evaluated bidder.

The World Bank Guidelines do not mandate the publication of the advertisement, in case of shopping method procurement, in a national daily. Thus, the Borrower may choose to advertise the procurement on reputed website alone, subject to requisite adherence to the state’s policy for procurement/finance which may prescribe advertising in a newspaper as well. However, in case the bid is required to be advertised in a newspaper only abridged version of the bid is required to be given.

The Bid may be mandated to be published in the widely circulated national daily at the discretion of the IA, however the Bid is required to be uploaded simultaneously on the departmental website and widely visited website related to tendering such as Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP). Further, in case of e-bidding the Bid shall be published on the e-procurement portal which should be compliant with the World Bank Guidelines.

Implementation responsibilities are distributed across the central and subnational IAs to maintain the balance and risk between centralized and state-based activities and minimize interdependence between the centre and states while ensuring the integration and standardization of systems. All central and subnational IAs will have project management units (PMUs), with a multidisciplinary team required to implement project activities. Each IA will be accountable for its own procurement planning, conducting procurement process and contract management.
The Annual Work Plan means the plans prepared by each IA, approved by the NPMU on an annual basis. The AWP is an annual plan which lists activities to be carried out by the IA in that year and meets the criteria agreed with the World Bank.
The procurement plan is a dynamic document and can be modified to include or exclude any procurements, subject to the approval of the World Bank. The procurement plan may be revised/ updated, as required, to reflect the actual project implementation needs and requirements. Each IA should update the PP at least annually or as needed throughout the duration of the project. The IA should obtain the concurrence from the World Bank for updated PP after obtaining internal approvals of NPMU for updating the AWP. Only those activities that are included in the procurement plan would be eligible for disbursement.
There shall be publication of General Procurement Notice, followed by specific Invitation for Bids (IFB) in United Nations Development Business online (UNDB online). This shall be followed by publication of IFB in the departmental website as well as at least one newspaper which has wide circulation in all regions of the country. Sale of bidding document to start only after publication of IFB in UNDB and national newspaper(s).

Method of Procurement

Threshold for Methods (USD)

International Competitive Bidding (ICB)

> USD 3 million (i.e. > INR 19.5 crore)

Limited Competitive Bidding (LIB)

Must meet the requirements as per Para 3.2 of the Procurement

Guidelines, and with prior agreement in PP with the Bank

National Competitive Bidding (NCB)

> USD 0.1 million and up to USD 3 million (i.e. > INR 65 lakh and

up to INR 19.5 crore)

Shopping

Up to 0.1 million (i.e. Up to INR 65 lakh)

Direct

Must meet the requirements as per Para 3.7 of the Procurement

Guidelines, and with prior agreement in PP with the Bank

Framework Agreement

Must meet the requirements as per Para 3.6 of the Procurement

Guidelines, and with prior agreement in PP with the Bank

Prior review (mandatory):

First procurement of the project irrespective of the value

All procurements estimated to cost more than USD 2 million

(i.e. INR 13 crore)

Method of Procurement

Threshold for Methods (USD)

International Competitive Bidding (ICB)

> USD 40 million (i.e. > INR 260 crore)

National Competitive Bidding (NCB)

> USD 0.1 million and up to USD 40 million (i.e. > INR 65 lakh and

 up to INR 260 crore)

Comparison of three quotations / Shopping

Up to 0.1 million (i.e. Up to INR 65 lakh)

Force Account

Must meet the requirements as per Para 3.9 of the Procurement

Guidelines, and with prior agreement in PP with the Bank

Prior review (mandatory):

First procurement of the project irrespective of the value

All procurements estimated to cost more than USD 10 million

(i.e. INR 65 crore)

Method of Procurement

Threshold for Methods (USD)

Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS)

 

Quality Based Selection (QBS)

Must meet requirement as per Para 3.2 to 3.4 of the

Consultant Guidelines

Selection based on a Fixed Budget (FBS)

Must meet requirement as per Para 3.5 of the Consultant

Guidelines

Selection based on Least Cost Basis (LCS)

Must meet requirement as per Para 3.6 of the Consultant

Guidelines

Selection based on Consultant's Qualification (CQ)

Estimate not to exceed USD 300,000 (i.e. INR 1.95 crore), and

must meet the requirements as per Para 3.7 of the Consultant's

 Guidelines

Single Source Selection (SSS)

Must meet the requirements as per Para 3.8 to 3.11 of the

Consultant's Guidelines, and with prior agreement in PP with

 the Bank

Prior review (mandatory):

First procurement under the project irrespective of the value

All procurements estimated to cost more than USD 1 million

(i.e. INR 65 lakh)

The Procurement Plan (for Goods and Non-Consultancies, Works and Consultancy services) for each of the IAs should be prepared for the full duration of the project. In case this is not possible it can be prepared for at least the first 18 months, based on the approved Project Implementation Plan (PIP) and the AWPs. The PP shall at the minimum have the description of the items, estimated cost, method of procurement, prior review by the Bank (whether required or not), estimated date of issue of bid / proposal and the estimated date of signing the contract.

The PP/ schedule should be entered into the Bank's STEP (Systematic Tracking and Exchanges in Procurement).The Bank reviews the submitted PP and accords no-objection. The procurement action will be initiated only after Bank's no-objection to the PP.

The Procurement Plan shall set forth those contracts, which shall be subject to the World Bank's prior review. The following would be subject to prior review of the World Bank regardless of the method of selection:
    a) Works: First procurement under the project irrespective of value and all procurements estimated to cost more than USD 10 million (INR 650 million)
  • b) Goods: First procurement under the project irrespective of value and all procurements estimated to cost more than USD 2 million (INR 130 million)
  • c) Consulting Firm: First procurement under the project irrespective of value and all procurements estimated to cost more than USD 1 million(INR 65 million)
  • d) Individual Consultant: all procurements estimated to cost more than USD 300,000(INR 19.5 million)
Further, according to the NHP Manual, Terms of Reference (ToR) for critical and complex consultant contracts shall be furnished by the IA through the NPMU to the World Bank for its prior review and no objection.
Single bid can also be considered for award, if it is determined that publicity was adequate, bid specification/ conditions were not restrictive or unclear and bid prices are considered reasonable in comparison to estimated price.
The NHP Procurement Manual suggests that payment terms should be 90% payment after delivery to the consignment and acceptance and balance 10% after certification of the goods or in accordance with the practices applicable to the specific goods and works.
Six consultancy firms will be shortlisted upon evaluation of the expression of interest. The Short lists shall comprise six firms with a wide geographic spread, with (i) no more than two firms from any one country unless there are no other qualified firms identified to meet this requirement; and (ii) and at least one firm from a developing country, unless no qualified firms from developing countries could be identified.
These are the circumstances in which direct contracting method can be used:
  • a) Extension of existing contracts for Works or Goods awarded with procedures acceptable to the World Bank, justifiable on economic grounds;
  • b) Standardization of equipment or spare parts to be compatible with existing equipment
  • c) Proprietary equipment obtainable only from one source;
  • d) Process design requires the purchase of critical items from a particular supplier as condition of a performance guarantee
  • e) In exceptional urgent cases such as in response to natural disasters;
  • f) Direct contracting may be followed for procurement of items, if so specified in the Procurement Plans cleared with the bank.
As per the NHP Procurement Manual, the TOR developed should ideally include:
  • a) A precise statement of objectives
  • b) An outline of the tasks to be carried out
  • c) A schedule for completion of tasks
  • d) The support/inputs provided by the client
  • e) The final outputs that will be required of the Consultant
  • f) Composition of Review Committee (not more than three members) to monitor the
  • g) Consultant’s works
  • h) Review of the Progress Reports required from Consultant
  • j) Review of the final draft report
  • k) List of key positions whose CV and experience would be evaluated.
Further details of the TOR is mentioned on Pages 31-33 of the NHP Procurement Manual.

The consultancy firm with the highest score derived from evaluating both the technical and financial criteria shall be invited for negotiations prior to award of contract. Negotiations shall include discussions of the TOR, the methodology, staffing, client’s inputs, and special conditions of the contract. These discussions shall not substantially alter the original TOR or the terms of the contract, lest the quality of the final product, its cost, and the relevance of the initial evaluation be affected. Major reductions in work inputs should not be made solely to meet the budget. The final TOR and the agreed methodology shall be incorporated in “Description of Services,” which shall form part of the contract.

Financial negotiations shall include clarification of the consultants' tax liability in India (if any) and how this tax liability has been or would be reflected in the contract. As Lump-Sum Contracts payments are based on delivery of outputs (or products), the offered price shall include all costs (staff time, overhead, travel, hotel, etc.).

: If the negotiations with the bidder with the highest score (combining the technical and financial proposals) fail to result in an acceptable contract, the client shall terminate the negotiations and invite the next ranked firm for negotiations. The World Bank shall be consulted prior to taking this step.
As per Clause No. 30 of GCC of the Standard Bid Document for Procurement of Consultants dated October 2017, the bidding firm shall not be allowed to substitute key staff, unless both parties agree. The substitution of Key Experts during Contract execution may be considered only based on the Consultant’s written request and due to circumstances outside the reasonable control of the Consultant, including but not limited to death or medical incapacity. In such case, the Consultant shall forthwith provide as a replacement, a person of equivalent or better qualifications and experience, meet eligibility requirements, and at the same rate of remuneration. If this is not the case, the firm may be disqualified and the process continued with the next ranked firm.
Given below is the Force Majeure Clause as mentioned in the Goods bid document: “For purposes of this Clause, “Force Majeure” means an event or situation beyond the control of the Supplier that is not foreseeable, is unavoidable, and its origin is not due to negligence or lack of care on the part of the Supplier. Such events may include, but not be limited to, acts of the Purchaser in its sovereign capacity, wars or revolutions, fires, floods, epidemics, quarantine restrictions, and freight embargoes.” In view of the above the Force Majuere Clause is applicable to the current Pandemic situation.
Please Refer to Consultant Guidelines Serial No. 2.8 as below: “The short list should normally comprise consultants of the same category with similar business objectives, corporate capacity, experience and field of expertise, and that have undertaken assignments of a similar nature and complexity. Government-owned enterprises or institutions and not-for-profit organizations (NGOs, Universities, UN Agencies, etc.) should not normally be included in the same short list along with private sector firms, unless they operate as commercial entities meeting the requirements of paragraph 1.13(b) of these Guidelines. If mixing is used, the selection should normally be made using Quality-Based Selection (QBS) or Selection Based on the Consultants’ Qualifications (CQS) (for small assignments).” In view of the same an NGO and a For Profit Firm cannot submit their EOIs/Proposals together.
The Standard RFP document has the option to allow/disallow association with another firm during the RFP Stage. It is therefore upto the Purchaser to chose from amongst these 2 Options based on their assessment.
Refer Para 5.3 of the Consultant Guidelines from the World Bank. The Borrower shall negotiate a contract with the selected individual consultant, or the firm as the case may be, after reaching agreement on satisfactory terms and conditions of the contract, including reasonable fees and other expenses. In view of the above, Compensation can be negotiated with the shortlisted individual consultant.
QBS is appropriate for the following type of assignments where (a) Complex or highly specialised assignments for which it is difficult to define precise TOR. (b) Assignments that have a high downstream impact (c) Assignments that can be carried out in substantially different ways. The financial proposal of the highest firm with the highest ranked technical proposal is opened and other financial proposals will be returned unopened after signing of the contract with highest ranked Consultant.
Please Refer to Consultant Guidelines Serial No. 2.8 as below: “The short list should normally comprise consultants of the same category with similar business objectives, corporate capacity, experience and field of expertise, and that have undertaken assignments of a similar nature and complexity. Government-owned enterprises or institutions and not-for-profit organizations (NGOs, Universities, UN Agencies, etc.) should not normally be included in the same short list along with private sector firms, unless they operate as commercial entities meeting the requirements of paragraph 1.13(b) of these Guidelines. If mixing is used, the selection should normally be made using Quality-Based Selection (QBS) or Selection Based on the Consultants’ Qualifications (CQS) (for small assignments).” In view of the same a Government Entity and a For Profit Firm cannot submit their EOIs/Proposals together.
Regarding Variation refer to Clause No. 2.4 of GCC of the Goods Bid document which pertain to Modification is present and it states the following as given below: “Modification of the terms and conditions of this Contract, including any modification of the scope of the Services or of the Contract Price, may only be made by written agreement between the Parties and shall not be effective until the consent of the Bank or of the Association, as the case may be, has been obtained.” In this regard, para 3 of Appendix-1 of the Procurement Guidelines is also relevant “Modifications of the signed contract: In the case of contracts subject to prior review, before agreeing to (a) a material extension of the stipulated time for performance of a contract; or (b) any substantial modification of the scope of services or other significant changes to the terms and conditions of the contract; or (c) any variation order or amendment (except in cases of extreme urgency) which, singly or combined with all variation orders or amendments previously issued, increase the original contract amount by more than 15% (fifteen percent); or (d) the proposed termination of the contract, the Borrower shall seek the Bank’s no objection. If the Bank determines that the proposal would be inconsistent with the provisions of the Loan Agreement and/or Procurement Plan, it shall promptly inform the Borrower and state the reasons for its determination. A copy of all amendments to the contract shall be furnished to the Bank for its record.” The Guidelines, therefore permits variation to the original contract amount by more than 15% in case of extreme urgency, with the Bank’s No-Objection.
This method is only appropriate for selecting consultants for assignments of a standard or routine nature (audits, engineering design of noncomplex works, and so forth) where well-established practices and standards exist. Under this method, a “minimum” qualifying score for the “quality” is established. Proposals, to be submitted in two envelopes, are invited from a short list. Technical proposals are opened first and evaluated. Those securing less than the minimum qualifying score are rejected, and the bidder with the lowest price shall then be selected.
Please Refer to the following Clause No. 44 of the Goods Bid document: “Within twenty one (21) days of the receipt of notification of award from the Purchaser, the successful Bidder, if required, shall furnish the Performance Security in accordance with the GCC, using for that purpose the Performance Security Form included in Section X Contract forms, or another Form acceptable to the Purchaser. Failure of the successful Bidder to submit the above-mentioned Performance Security or sign the Contract shall constitute sufficient grounds for the annulment of the award and forfeiture of the Bid Security. In that event the Purchaser may award the Contract to the next lowest evaluated Bidder, whose bid is substantially responsive and is determined by the Purchaser to be qualified to perform the Contract satisfactorily.” In view of the above in case of any indication on behlf of the Supplier regarding either its unwilling to Sign the Contract or Furnish Performance Security the Purchaser would annul the Award and give the Contract to the next lowest bidder.
The System generates the comparative chart from the BoQ uploaded by the bidders. If the Bidder makes any mistake in the Sheet Name or any of the values, then the system will not be able to read the data from the BoQ uploaded and hence may get missed out from the Comparative Chart. The Department user may take a decision to accept or reject that depending on the nature of mistake and regenerate the Comparative chart manually and upload this comparative chart along with the Financial Summary which can be seen by the General Public.
No. As per the IT ACT 2000, the Digitally signed document is as good as paper document for all legal purposes. Hence, there is no need to submit all the documents physically. However, when the physical documents are requested for cross checking purposes, the same need to be produced for verification. However, In the case of offline payment instruments, the physical documents need to be submitted before the bid opening event or as the case may be.
There is a separate BoQ for facilitating BoQ with International Currencies. The same is to be used while creating the BoQ. As on date, six currencies are allowed and each bidder can submit his bid with any one of the 6 foreign currencies of his choice. The rates as applicable on the date of opening will be used for comparative purposes. The system will give the indicative rates on the dates of opening and Purchaser has the option to override the system defined rates.
Single-source selection of consultants does not provide the benefits of competition in regard to quality and cost, lacks transparency in selection, and could encourage unacceptable practices. Therefore, single-source selection shall be used only in exceptional cases Single Source Selection may be appropriate only, if it presents a clear advantage over competition: (a) for tasks that represent a natural continuation of previous work carried out by the firm; (b) in emergency; (c) for very small assignments; and (d) when only one firm is qualified or has experience of exceptional worth for the assignment at hand.
The application does not impose any restriction on the size of bid document that can be uploaded into the portal. However, the upload limit is decided by the Network speed that the client system has and also the memory configurations that have been defined in the system for Purchaser. This technical documentation is given in Technical Resources in the Home Page.
In the e-Procurement portal, the technical and financial bid documents submitted by the bidders are digitally signed using their authorized officials valid Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs), which as per the IT Act, can be considered equivalent to the physical signature of an individual. For the Bid Security, we advise the procuring entities to ask the bidder to submit invite a scanned copy of the draft / cheque / bank guarantee along with the electronic bid and also to submit a physical copy of the EMD (only) either in person or by post / courier. This can be verified with the uploaded scanned copy. Samples of any sort cannot be invited online and the procuring entities must ask the bidders to submit a physical copy of any samples. It is upto the procuring entities to verify their genuineness as per the norms they have been following so far.
Government-owned enterprises in the Borrower's country may participate only if they can establish that they are legally and financially autonomous and are operating under the commercial laws of India.
What are the two types of contracts that can be entered into with the consultant? Response:

a) Lump sum contracts are used mainly for assignments in which the content and the duration of the services and the required output of the consultants are clearly defined. They are widely used for simple planning and feasibility studies, environmental studies, detailed design of standard or common structures, preparation of data processing systems, and so forth. Payments are linked to outputs (deliverables), such as reports, drawings, bill of quantities, bidding documents, and software programs. Lump sum contracts are easy to administer because payments are due on clearly specified outputs.

b) Time based contract: This type of contract is appropriate when it is difficult to define the scope and the length of services, either because the services are related to activities by others for which the completion period may vary, or because the input of the consultants required to attain the objectives of the assignment is difficult to assess. This type of contract is widely used for complex studies, supervision of construction, advisory services, and most training assignments. Payments are based on agreed hourly, daily, weekly or monthly rates of staff and on reimbursable items using actual expenses and/or agreed unit prices. The rates for staff include salary, social costs, overhead, fee (or profit), and, where appropriate special allowances. This type of contract shall include a maximum amount of total payments to be made to the consultants.

The Borrower shall justify the rejection of all proposals only if all proposals are non-responsive because they present major deficiencies in complying with the TOR or if they involve costs substantially higher than the original estimate. In the latter case, the feasibility of increasing the budget, or scaling down the scope of services with the firm should be investigated in consultation with the Bank. Before all the proposals are rejected and new proposals are invited, the Borrower shall notify the Bank, indicating the reasons for rejection of all proposals, and shall obtain the Bank's "no objection" before proceeding with the rejection and the new process. The new process may include revising the RFP (including the short list) and the budget. These revisions shall be agreed upon with the Bank.
As per the NHP Procurement Manual, Normally, requests for quotes should indicate the expected date of submission of quotes with a minimum of 10 days from the date of issue of request.
Only the model bidding documents for NCB agreed with the GOI Task Force (and as amended for time to time), shall be used for bidding.

As per the NHP Procurement Manual, award decision and its rationale should be documented/ and kept for review by audit by the Bank (or by the Bank’s auditors) as needed. The record should contain the list of firms invited, and the list and value of quotations received, comparative statements etc. The documents should clearly show that the award is based on sound technical and commercial criteria.

Further, the Manual also requires the Procurer to retain all documentation with respect to each contract during project implementation and up to two years after the closing date of the Loan Agreement. This documentation would include, but not be limited to, the signed original of the contract, the analysis of the respective proposals, and recommendations for award, for examination by the Bank.

The IAs entrusted with evaluation of Supplier’s / Contractor’s shall ascertain whether quotations: a) meet the eligibility requirements specified; b) have been properly signed; c) are valid for the period specified in the RFQ document; d) are substantially responsive (commercially and technically) to the RFQ; and e) are otherwise generally in order.

If the bidder meets the above stipulations indicated in the RFQ, it is determined as substantially responsive and is considered further for evaluation.

Framework Agreement (FAs) may be permitted in place of Shopping or NCB under the following circumstances: (a) goods that can be procured off-the-shelf, or are of common use with standard specifications; (b) non-consulting services that are of a simple and non-complex nature and may be required from time to time by the same agency (or multiple agencies) of the Borrower; or (c) small value contracts for works under emergency operations.
There is no exemption from the requirement of furnishing EMD for Bidders who are registered with NSIC as one of the Bank’s guiding principles for procurement is to give all eligible bidders from developed and developing countries the same information and equal opportunity to compete in providing goods, works, consulting and non-consulting services financed by the Bank.
The following documents shall be disclosed on the ministry and IA websites: (i) procurement plan and updates, (ii) invitation for bids for goods and works for all ICB, NCB and shopping contracts, (iii) request for expression of interest for selection/hiring of consulting services, (iv) contract awards of goods and works procured following ICB/NCB procedures, (v) list of contracts/purchase orders placed following shopping procedure on quarterly basis, (vi) list of contracts following direct contracting on a quarterly basis, (vii) monthly financial and physical progress report of all contracts, and (viii) action taken report on the complaints received on a quarterly basis.
This method may be used for small assignments (not exceeding USD 300000) for which the need for preparing and evaluating competitive proposals is not justified. In such cases, prepare the TOR, request expressions of interest and information on the consultants’ experience and competence relevant to the assignment, establish a short list of least three qualified firms with relevant experience. Firms having the required experience and competence relevant to the assignment shall be assessed and compared, and the best qualified and experienced firm shall be selected. Only the selected firm shall be asked to submit a combined technical and financial proposal and, if such proposal is responsive and acceptable, be invited to negotiate a contract. Both technical and financial aspects of the proposal may be negotiated.
As per Section IV (Bidding Forms), the Declaration for claiming Tax/Duty Exemption is applicable for bidders who seek   deemed export benefit in accordance with the relevant provisions of the ITB clause 14.9. However, after the implementation of the GST, Excise duty has been abolished and merged in GST. Therefore, exporters are now governed by GST and there is no need to complete the formalities pertaining to Excise Duty which were required to be completed under the previous rules related to Excise Duty. Exporters shall now get refund of the GST paid by them as per the applicable rules under the GST regime.