MindTree outbids biggies to win Rs 30-cr unique ID deal

NEW DELHI: Mid-sized software service provider MindTree outbid larger rivals Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, apart from top multinational firms, to win Rs 30-crore contract from India’s Unique Identification Authority ( UIDAI), senior government officials and persons familiar with the project told ET on Thursday.

While the contract is small when compared with several multi-million dollar deals announced by various government departments over the past few years, it’s the first in a series of projects, worth up to $1 billion , to be outsourced by the UIDAI.

When contacted by ET on Thursday , a MindTree spokesman declined to offer any specific comments . “Many large vendors were disqualified because they could not assure quality permanent staff for the project —something we considered to be crucial,” said a government official. He requested anonymity and also confirmed that the contract has been awarded to MindTree.

The contract involves developing an application which will capture and manage data from different sources, including biometric details . MindTree will help the authority develop this application and also provide maintenance support.

Around 19 bids from companies, including IBM, Accenture, TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam, were considered by the authority. While IBM emerged as T-1 (number one in technical shortlisting ), Accenture and MindTree emerged as number two and number three.

Finally, UIDAI insisted on having permanent staff on the project, which according to another official , was something not many could assure.

Many companies told UIDAI during the submission that guaranteeing a particular resource is difficult in this environment when poaching by rivals happens on a large scale. “We can guarantee a person with an equivalent skill set and not the same person. The resource may leave as the project starts in 3-6 months. It’s very difficult to give that kind of commitment,” said another e-governance official , familiar with the bidding process. Consulting firm Ernst and Young has been appointed for advising the authority on these IT projects.