India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reopened its artificial intelligence and machine learning vendor empanelment process. The ministry wants to add more technology partners for government programmes under the Digital India initiative.
The National e-Governance Division issued the fresh request for empanelment on August 10. Applications close on September 7, while officials plan to open technical bids on September 8. The process will expand the existing panel instead of replacing its members.
Six companies joined the first panel. They include Tata Consultancy Services, NEC Corporation India, Kyndryl Solutions, Cactus Technology Solutions, CoRover and Innefu Labs. These firms can provide AI and machine learning staff or deliver projects for public agencies.
New applicants must accept the approved lowest-bidder rate card from the first selection round. NeGD states that vendors “cannot revise prices upwards or renegotiate them.” Therefore, the new exercise focuses on adding qualified suppliers without conducting another price discovery process.
The same commercial terms will apply to all newly selected companies. They must follow the existing service-level agreements, performance bank guarantee rules and other contract conditions. Their place on the panel will run until April 21, 2028.
The empanelment gives ministries, government departments, state administrations and public sector undertakings access to specialised AI staff. These bodies can use the panel when they need technical support for Digital India projects. The framework reduces the need to run a separate vendor selection process for each requirement.
Government bodies can choose among three engagement models. An agency may supply individual professionals, provide a complete AI project team or handle a turnkey project. The covered positions include AI architects, programme managers, data scientists, AI and machine learning engineers, data engineers, MLOps specialists and quality-assurance engineers.
The selected agencies may work on citizen services, automation, data analysis and other digital systems. NeGD can also deploy them across central and state programmes. Each department will define its project needs and engage suitable vendors through the common panel.
Applicants must pass the technical evaluation before NeGD considers them for final empanelment. Each bidder needs at least 75 points out of 100. Qualified firms must then submit an unconditional written acceptance of the existing lowest-bidder rates and the related terms.
The tender also sets requirements covering company experience, staffing, past AI work and technical certifications. Under the tender conditions, most bidders must operate as Indian companies or limited liability partnerships with at least three years of experience. They also need an average annual turnover of ₹25 crore and 100 full-time employees. Eligible micro, small and medium enterprises and startups receive exemptions.
Vendors must provide documents supporting their eligibility and project record. NeGD will apply the same evaluation framework and contract standards used for the current panel.
Separately, Cactus Technology said in July that it secured a government project to develop an AI-powered procurement platform. The system will support departments when they draft, review and check procurement documents. The award shows the type of administrative work available through government AI programmes.
Interested agencies can submit proposals until 4 p.m. on September 7. The tender carries the reference NeGD_AI_RFE_02. After technical review, successful applicants that accept the fixed rates can join the government’s AI and machine learning partner pool.
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