In the midst of the controversy surrounding BSNL's decision to award a Rs 1,000 crore tender to Nokia for the supply of optical transport network (OTN) equipment, BSNL CMD PK Purwar stated to FE on Monday that the company has rigorously adhered to government guidelines, particularly those outlined in the Make in India procurement policy for the tender process.
"Purwar emphasized, 'The company has not violated any policy and is strictly aligned with the Make in India vision,'" noting that the tender is still pending. However, Purwar declined to disclose further details about the tender, citing its current consideration.
According to the Make in India public procurement policy, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has stipulated that all public sector companies and government departments must prioritize local companies when procuring supplies.
According to official sources, when a tender exceeds an order value of Rs 200 crore, DPIIT guidelines permit the inclusion of products from both Indian and foreign companies. However, in the case of the current BSNL tender, a senior government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed that HFCL, a domestic equipment supplier, emerged as the lowest bidder. Once awarded, HFCL is set to fulfill the order in collaboration with Nokia India.
In recent times, major telecom companies like Reliance Jio and Airtel have opted for equipment from manufacturers such as Nokia for their network connectivity.
Concerns have been raised regarding the BSNL tender by the Delhi-based Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (VoICE) consortium, which has communicated with Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The consortium expressed apprehension about the exclusion of local equipment suppliers in such tender processes. VoICE represents local equipment suppliers, and its Director General, Rakesh Bhatnagar, asserted, "It is not right that local companies are being rejected in government companies/department tenders. They are the most trusted source.
As per Bhatnagar, BSNL rejected the tender from the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and UTL consortium due to the absence of trusted source approval and the lack of a bank guarantee.
Sources indicate that BSNL previously turned down the bid from Tejas Networks, citing the reason that it was the sole bid received by the company. Officials mentioned that the bid from Tejas Networks was nearly 20% higher than that of HFCL-Nokia.
