IT model request for proposal a positive step, says industry

NEW DELHI:While the industry has welcomed the government’s latest draft of the Model RFP (Request for proposal) for implementation agencies calling it a step in the right direction, it feels that a lot more needs to be done in order to remove the roadblocks in servicing technology contracts.

Sangeeta Gupta, chief strategy officer at Nasscom, told ET the industry body feels there are “positives” in the draft which are related to many issues that Nasscom had raised with the government, such as clauses related to cashflows and setting thresholds of payments on deliveries, commissioning, after going live. Also, there is a clearer definition of what a go live means and the draft talks defined timelines, accountability, she added.

“A lot of the recommendations that Nasscom was pushing for have been met, I think there are one or two issues like those related to warranties, but those are not show s toppers from my perspective,” said Gupta. The draft currently is an advisory from the MeitY which has to be adopted by the various stakeholders involved. “I think the more important part is that we have to work across state governments to get acceptance on this, because it will be the true adoption of the draft for us,” added Gupta.


Rishad Premji, chief strategy officer, Wipro, and chairman, Nasscom, the IT services industry body, said in a recent interaction with ET that the large enterprises in India are becoming technology-hungry and the government piece of the domestic market is huge opportunity that we participate in. He said it can be a “missed opportunity” if India is not on the priority list of the IT services companies. Similarly, Debjani Ghosh, president of Nasscom had told ET recently that the government is the biggest buyer of technology in India.

“They have to make it easy for industry to work with them. The realisation exists! There is a model RFP which is in development…” Neel Ratan, partner at audit and consultancy firm PwC said its good that the government is moving towards this model. “Definitely there are areas for concern such as limitation of liability, confidentiality etc. The government must also ensure that it is considered by all states and departments even though a few variations will be understood,” he said.