RFP Call Center 21 December 2020

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

(Bidding Terms & Draft Agreement)


FOR

Selection of Agency for

Centralized Contact Center Operations

Dated: 21st December 2020

Invest India

Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India and acts as
the first point of reference for investors in India.
Contents

DISCLAIMER 5

SECTION 1: LETTER OF INVITATION .......................................................................................................... 7

SECTION 2: INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS ................................................................................................. 10

IMPORTANT DATES: .......................................................................................................................................... 11


DATA SHEET .................................................................................................................................................... 11
PREFACE 19
2.2 Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 19
2.3 Documents part of RFP ......................................................................................................................... 20
2.4 Fraud / Corruption ................................................................................................................................ 21
2.5 Only one Proposal ................................................................................................................................. 22
2.6 Proposal Validity................................................................................................................................... 22
2.7 Clarification and Amendment of RFP Documents ................................................................................... 22
2.8 Preparation of Proposals ....................................................................................................................... 23
2.9 Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) .............................................................................................................. 23
2.10 Pre-Qualification Criteria.................................................................................................................... 24
2.11 Technical Proposal .............................................................................................................................. 24
2.12 Financial Proposals............................................................................................................................. 26
2.13 Conflict of Interest ............................................................................................................................... 26
2.14 Conflicting activities ............................................................................................................................ 26
2.15 Conflicting assignments ....................................................................................................................... 27
2.16 Ownership Rights ................................................................................................................................ 27
2.17 Conflicting relationships ...................................................................................................................... 27
2.18 Negotiations ........................................................................................................................................ 27
2.19 Performance security ........................................................................................................................... 28
2.20 Confidentiality ..................................................................................................................................... 28
2.21 Authorization of signatory: .................................................................................................................. 28
2.22 Submission, Receipt, and Opening of Proposals ................................................................................... 29
2.23 Proposal Evaluation ............................................................................................................................ 32
2.24 Evaluation of Technical Proposals ....................................................................................................... 32
2.25 Public Opening and Evaluation of Financial Proposals ........................................................................ 33
2.26 Combined Evaluation .......................................................................................................................... 33
2.27 Information.......................................................................................................................................... 35
2.28 Taxes ................................................................................................................................................... 35
2.29 Award of Contract ............................................................................................................................... 35
2.30 Data Sheet ........................................................................................................................................... 36
2.31 Pre-Qualification checklist .................................................................................................................. 45

SECTION 3: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL- STANDARD FORMS .................................................................... 46

Form Tech 1A: Letter of Proposal Submission ............................................................................................. 49


Form Tech 1B: Bidder’s Authorization Certificate ....................................................................................... 50
Form Tech 1C: Bidder Details..................................................................................................................... 51
Form Tech 2: Bidder’s Organization and Experience ................................................................................... 52
Form Tech 3: Comments and Suggestions on the understanding of the Terms of Reference ........................... 54
Form Tech 4: Description of Approach, Methodology and Work Plan for Performing the Assignment/ Job ... 55
Form Tech 5: Team Composition and Task Assignment/ Jobs....................................................................... 56
Form Tech 6: Comments/ Modifications Suggested on Draft Contract .......................................................... 59
Form Tech 7: Information regarding Conflicting Activities and Wrong Declaration thereof ......................... 60

SECTION 4: FINANCIAL PROPOSAL- STANDARD FORMS ..................................................................... 61

Form Fin 1: Financial Proposal Submission Form ...................................................................................... 62


Form Fin 2: Lump sum Cost as per TOR of Section 5 ................................................................................... 63

SECTION 5: TERMS OF REFERENCE .......................................................................................................... 64

5.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 65


5.1.1 About Invest India ............................................................................................................................... 65
5.1.2 Project Details.................................................................................................................................... 65
5.1.3 Objectives........................................................................................................................................... 65
5.2 SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES ............................................................................................ 66
5.2.1 Query Handling Team......................................................................................................................... 67
5.2.2 Management and Reporting Team ....................................................................................................... 67
5.2.3 Team Structure and Resource Count ................................................................................................... 68
5.2.4 Service Level Expectations .................................................................................................................. 70
5.2.5 Tentative Key Result Areas: ................................................................................................................ 70
5.4 Disaster Recovery.................................................................................................................................. 72
5. 5 Payment Terms ..................................................................................................................................... 72

SECTION 6: STANDARD FORM OF CONTRACT ........................................................................................ 73

DISCLAIMER: .................................................................................................................................................. 73
6.1 FORM OF CONTRACT ................................................................................................................................... 75
6.2 GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT ............................................................................................ 77
6.2.1 General Provisions ............................................................................................................................. 77
6.2.2 Commencement, Completion, Modification and Termination of Contract ............................................. 81
6.2.3 Obligations of the Agency ................................................................................................................... 85
6.2.4 Companies’ Personnel ........................................................................................................................ 87
6.2.5 Obligations of Invest India .................................................................................................................. 87
6.2.6 Payments to the Agency ...................................................................................................................... 88
6.2.7 Deductions ......................................................................................................................................... 90
6.2.8 Fairness and Good Faith .................................................................................................................... 90
6.2.9 Settlement of Disputes ......................................................................................................................... 90
6.2.10 Jurisdiction....................................................................................................................................... 91
6.2.11 Liquidated Damages ......................................................................................................................... 92
6.2.12 Performance security ........................................................................................................................ 92
6.2.13 Confidentiality .................................................................................................................................. 93
6.2.14 Taxes ................................................................................................................................................ 94
6.2.15 Contract Price .................................................................................................................................. 94
6.2.16 Transfer of Contract ......................................................................................................................... 94
6.2.17 Miscellaneous provisions .................................................................................................................. 94
6.2.18 Payment Terms ................................................................................................................................. 95
Disclaimer

1. This Request for Proposal (“RFP”) is issued by Invest India, a joint venture between the
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, Industry Associations and State Governments of India.

2. The information contained in this RFP or subsequently provided to bidders, whether verbally
or in documentary or any other form by or on behalf of Invest India or any of its employees or
advisors, is provided on the terms and conditions set out in this RFP.

3. This RFP is not a contract and is not an offer by Invest India to the prospective bidders or any
other person. The purpose of this RFP is to provide interested parties with information that
may be useful to them in the formulation of their proposals pursuant to this RFP. This RFP
includes statements, which reflect various assumptions and assessments arrived at by Invest
India, in relation to the project. Such assumptions, assessments and statements do not purport
to contain all the information that each bidder may require. This RFP may not be appropriate
for all persons, and it is not possible for Invest India, its employees or advisers to consider the
objectives, technical expertise and particular needs of each party, who reads or uses this RFP.
The assumptions, assessments, statements and information contained in this RFP may not be
complete, accurate, adequate or correct. Each bidder should, therefore, conduct its own
investigations and analysis and should check the accuracy, adequacy, correctness, reliability
and completeness of the assumptions, assessments and information contained in this RFP and
obtain independent advice from appropriate sources.

4. Information provided in this RFP to the bidders is on a wide range of matters and is not an
exhaustive account of statutory requirements and should not be regarded as a complete or
authoritative statement of law. Invest India accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or
otherwise for any interpretation or opinion on the laws expressed herein. Invest India, its
employees and advisers make no representation or warranties and shall have no liability to any
person including any bidder under any law, statute, rules or regulations or tort, principles of
restitution or unjust enrichment or otherwise for any loss, claims, damages, cost or expense
which may arise from or be incurred or suffered on account of anything contained in this RFP
or otherwise, including the accuracy, adequacy, correctness, reliability or completeness of the
RFP and any assessment, assumption, statement or information contained herein or deemed to
form part of this RFP or arising in any way in this selection process. Invest India accepts no
liability of any nature, whether resulting from negligence or otherwise, however caused, arising
from reliance of any bidder upon the statements contained in this RFP.

5. Invest India is entitled, in its absolute discretion, but without being under any obligation, to
update, amend or supplement the information, assessment or assumption contained in this RFP.
The issue of this RFP does not imply that Invest India is bound to select a bidder or to appoint
the selected bidder, as the case may be, for this project and Invest India reserves the right to
reject all or any of the proposals of any bidder, without assigning any reason whatsoever.

6. Invest India or its authorized officers / representatives / advisors reserve the right, without prior
notice, to change the procedure for the selection of the selected bidder or terminate discussions
and the delivery of information at any time before the signing of any agreement for the project,
without assigning reasons thereof.

7. The RFP does not address concerns relating to diverse investment objectives, financial
situation, and particular needs of any party. The RFP is not intended to provide the basis for
any investment decision and each bidder must make its / their own independent assessment in
respect of various aspects of the techno-economic feasibilities of the project. No person has
been authorized by Invest India to give any information or to make any representation not
contained in the RFP.

8. Invest India may terminate the bid process at any time and without assigning any reason and
makes no commitments, express or implied, that this process will result in a business
transaction with anyone.
SECTION 1: LETTER OF INVITATION
Dear Sir,

Invest India invites proposals from reputed bidders for selection of an Agency for Centralized
Contact Center Operations.

A bidder will be selected under the Combined Quality cum Cost Based System method (CQCCBS)
with weightages of 80:20 (80% for technical proposal and 20% for financial proposal) and as per
procedures described in this RFP.

The content of this RFP enlists the requirements of Invest India. It includes the Bidding Terms
and Draft Agreement which details out all that may be needed by the potential bidders to
understand the financial terms and bidding process and explains the contractual terms that Invest
India wishes to specify at this stage. It also consists of a draft agreement that needs to be signed
between the Invest India and the successful bidder.

The RFP includes the following sections:

Section 1 - Letter of Invitation

Section 2 - Instructions to Bidders (including Data Sheet and pre-qualification


criteria)

Section 3 - Technical Proposal - Standard Forms

Section 4 - Financial Proposal - Standard Forms

Section 5 - Terms of Reference

Section 6 - Standard Form of Contract


All interested agencies should inform (within one week of the date of release of RFP) the
concerned officer at Invest India:

2.1 that it will submit a proposal

2.2 that it will attend the pre-bid conference on 29th December 2020 at 03:00 pm

The information may be submitted at the following address by post only.

Diksha Nigam

Invest India,

First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,

Maulana Azad Road,

New Delhi – 110 001 M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939

E: [email protected]

[Cc to [email protected]]

Yours faithfully,

Deepak Bagla

CEO and MD

Invest India
SECTION 2: INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
Important Dates:

RFP Issue Date 21st December 2020

Last Date for Query Submission 29th December 2020, 06:00 pm

Pre-Bid Meeting 29th December 2020, 03:00 pm


Response to Query Submission 1st January 2021, 06:00 pm

Last Date for Bid Submission 11th January 2021, 04:00 pm

Pre-Qualification & Technical Bid Opening 12th January 2021

Technical Solution Presentation & Evaluation 15th and 18th January 2021

Financial Bid Evaluation 19th January 2021

Data Sheet

1. Name of the client: Invest India, Invest India is the National Investment Promotion
and Facilitation Agency of India and acts as the first point of
reference for investors in India.

Method of selection: Combined Quality cum Cost Based System (CQCCBS)

2. Documents part of RFP: The RFP consists of the Bidding Terms and Draft
Agreement. It details out all information that may be needed by
the potential bidders to understand the financial terms and
various bidding processes and explains the contractual terms
Invest India wishes to specify at this stage. It also consists of a
draft Agreement that needs to be signed between Invest India
and the successful bidder.

3. Pre-Qualification Criteria
(a) The bidder must be either a company or a limited
liability partnership registered under the Indian
Companies Act 1956/ 2013 or a society registered under
Societies Registration Act. (Registration Certificate or
Startup certificate under DPIIT)

(b) The bidder must have been in operation for at least three
years as on 1st December 2020 (Incorporation/
Registration Certificate required)

(c) The bidder must have a dedicated manpower size of at


least 100 people. (HR Certificate)

(d) The bidder must have annual revenue of at least INR 5


Crores during last three financial years from Indian
operations (CA Audited certificate and income tax
returns for last 3 financial years)
[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this
criterion]

(e) The bidder must have successfully completed at least 2


projects of similar nature in last 3 years with at least 1
project having a minimum order value of INR 50 lakh
each. (Copy of work order, Contract for each of the
mentioned assignments required)
[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this
criterion]

Documentary proof with respect to the above criteria is


essential without which the proposal will be rejected.
Technical and Financial evaluation will be done only for the
bidders satisfying the above criteria.
In case Invest India requires, the bidder will facilitate in the
following:

• Examination of project implemented


• Provide 3 references from prior customers
4. Earnest Money Deposit Yes. The Bidder must submit an EMD of INR 1,00,000 in
requested: Indian Rupees in the form of a Demand Draft drawn in favour
of Invest India payable at New Delhi.

[DPIIT recognized startups & MSMEs are exempt]

5. Technical and Financial Yes


Proposals requested:

Name, objectives, and As detailed in TOR (Section 5)


description of the
assignment:

6. Pre-bid conference: Date: 29th December 2020


Time: 03:00 pm
Mode: Virtual Meeting

Contact details for pre-bid conference:


Invest India,
First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,
Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi – 110 001
M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939
E: [email protected]
Bidders may confirm their participation in the pre-bid
conference to the above person.

7. Clauses on fraud and Clause 3 of Section 2


corruption in the Contract:

8. Number of days during 3 working days. No clarifications will be entertained during the
which clarifications to be last three working days before the last date of submission of the
sought before the Bid bid.
submission date:

Address for requesting Diksha Nigam


clarifications is: Invest India,
First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,
Maulana Azad Road,
New Delhi – 110 001 M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939
E: [email protected] [cc to
[email protected]]
9. Language(s) of the English
submitted proposals: The Contract to be signed with the successful Agency shall be
written in the English language, which shall be the language
that shall govern the contractual relations between Invest India
and the successful Agency.

10. (i) Without diluting the Yes


concept of total
responsibility of the Agency
awarded the Contract, short
listed Agency/entity may
associate with other short
listed Agency: Prior
approval of Invest India
required.

(ii) Reports that are part English


of the assignment must be
written in the following
language(s):

11. Training is a specific Yes


component of this
assignment:

12. Taxes: As per Clause 27 of Section 2


Amounts payable by the
Invest India to the Agency Yes
under the Contract shall be
the Contract price inclusive
of all taxes and duties and
after deductions indicated in
clause 6.2.7

13. Bidder to state cost in the Cost to be stated in Indian Rupees


national currency:

14. Proposals must remain valid Date:21st April 2021


for one hundred twenty (120
days) after the submission
date, i.e., until:

15. Address to submit proposal Diksha Nigam


by the Agency: Invest India,
First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,
Maulana Azad Road,
New Delhi – 110 001 M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939
E: [email protected] [cc to
[email protected]]
16. Proposals submission date: Not later than the following date and time:
Date: 11th January 2021
Before: 04:00 pm (Indian Standard Time)

17. Number of points to be given under each evaluation criteria for technical evaluation:

Description of each evaluation criteria: Maximum Marks with


Break-up

(i). Past Experience in work of similar nature 25 Marks


(a) Past experience of similar nature as described in point 5 Marks
number 3(d) of the data sheet and as described in scope of work
clause 5.2, in terms of number of assignments in India,
executed over the last 3 years, each of whose value is above Rs
50 lakhs [DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this
criterion]
(2 Marks)
• No. assignments >1 and <3
(3 Marks)
• No. of Assignments>4 and <7 (5 Marks)

• No. of Assignments over 8 5 Marks


(b) Past experience of working with the Government of India/or
its agencies/or State Government/ or its agencies 15 Marks
(c) Knowledge of “Indian Startup Ecosystem” and “Doing
Business in India” aspects. Understanding of key systems,
policies, practices, operations/ functions, scenarios, depicting
limitations in the administrative systems/ policies/ practices in
their previous projects executed.
Evidenced by Contract/Work/Engagement orders, indicating
details of assignment, client, value of assignment, date of
award etc.

(ii). Manpower, Skill Set, Team Composition & Deployment 30 Marks


Composition of the project team and details of specific
qualifications, skills/ competencies/ expertise of the key
professional staff. Resumes of team members to give details of
Education Qualification, implementation of similar
assignments, relevant services carried out in the last 5 years,
Client/ User Testimonials/ credentials
The breakdown of the marks is as follows
a. Project lead (10 Marks)
b. Query Handling – Team Leader (4 Marks)
c. Query Handling – 7 Resources (Hindi, English and
Regional Language) (2 Marks each)
d. Training- Trainer (6 Marks)

(iii). Understanding of TOR, Methodology and Work Plan 45 Marks


Adequacy of the proposed work plan and methodology in responding
to the TOR

(a). Understanding and adherence of TOR 10 Marks


Demonstrated level of understanding of the project, its purpose,
scope, and bidder's plan for performing the required services as
detailed in scope of work, technical and functional
requirements in the bid, during the entire lifecycle of the
project.
(b). Approach and Methodology: 25 Marks

Comprehensiveness and robustness of Project Plan (level of


detail of activities, risk mitigation and practicality). This
criterion will be evaluated based on the following parameters:
(i) Comprehensiveness of plan with respect to all
activities that need to be undertaken to meets the
requirements specified in the scope of work
(ii) Quality of the solution including innovations
(iii) Resource planning and allocation
(iv) Data collection strategy
(c). Work Plan and Time Schedule: Appropriateness of 10 Marks
prescribed time frames.
Based on work order of assignments enclosed along with the
Technical proposal, marks will be assigned.

Total 100 Marks

The bidder will be required to make presentation on its Proposal covering


Experience/Technical Proposal including Implementation Methodology, Team Composition,
Work Schedule and Activity Schedule, the date and time for which will be intimated
individually.

18. Financial Evaluation:


Invest India shall shortlist all the Companies who secure the minimum required marks. The
minimum cut off will be 60 % (Sixty Percent). Financial proposals of only the Companies
scoring 60% in technical bid will be evaluated.
The proposal with the lowest total bid value shall be given a financial score of 100 and other
proposals given financial scores that are inversely proportional to their prices.

19. Combined Evaluation:


Based on the criteria in item No. 18 the Technical Scores will be assigned and will have a
weightage of 80%. The Financial Proposals will be allotted a weightage of 20%. The total
score shall be obtained by weighing the technical and financial scores and adding them up. On
the basis of combined weighted technical and financial score, the bidder shall be ranked in
terms of total score obtained. The proposal obtaining the highest total combined technical and
financial score will be ranked as H-1 followed by the proposals securing lesser marks as H2,
H3, etc. The bidder securing the highest combined marks will be considered for award of the
contract.

20. Address for correspondence: Diksha Nigam


Invest India,
First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,
Maulana Azad Road,
New Delhi – 110 001 M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939
E: [email protected] [cc to
[email protected]]

21. Return of unopened The financial proposals of those bidders that do not meet the
financial proposals minimum qualifying criteria or considered non-responsive to
the RFP shall be returned within 30 days of the completion of
technical evaluation process.

22. Terms of Payment The financial bid is to be submitted as per Financial Bid
Proposal Sheet, Form Fin 2.
The terms of payments are as below:
a) End of month payment as per the financial bid amount.
Note: The Monitoring Committee will conduct a quarterly
review of the project activities and deliverables to gauge output
and to approve activities for the forthcoming period.
The Performance Bank Guarantee may be discharged at the
final payment stage.

23. Commencement of On the date and at the location specified in the LOA/Contract
assignment:

24. Expected Timelines:


(i) Recruiting Within 1 week after intimation by Invest India team over email
additional
employees.
(ii) Training for Within 1 week from signing of contract
contact center
operations

Preface
Invest India is set up as a nonprofit venture under the DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and
Industries, Government of India. Operationalized in early 2010, the Agency has been set up as
the dedicated investment promotion agency (IPA) for attracting investments into the country in a
structured, focused and comprehensive manner.

Invest India is the first point of reference for foreign investors, and investment promotion and
facilitation constitute the core mandate of the Agency. Its services include providing quality
input and support services to Indian and overseas enterprises — through granulated, sector- and
state-specific information, assistance with location identification, expedition of regulatory
approvals, facilitation of meetings with relevant government officials, organization of investment
road shows and roundtables, and aftercare services that include initiating remedial action on
problems faced by investors by involving the government department concerned.

2.2 Introduction

2.2.1 Invest India named in the Data Sheet will select a bidder in accordance with the method
of selection specified in the Data Sheet.

2.2.2 The short-listed bidders are invited to submit a proposal in two parts - the Technical part
and the financial part sealed separately, as specified in the Data Sheet, for services required
for the assignment named in the Data Sheet. Late bids i.e. bids received after the
specified date in the data sheet will not be considered. The Proposals submitted will be
the basis for signing the contract with the selected bidder.

2.2.3 The Bidders are required to familiarize themselves with the local conditions and take them
into account while preparing their proposals. To obtain first-hand information on the
assignment and local conditions, bidders are advised to attend a pre-bid conference as
specified in the Data Sheet. Attending the pre-bid conference is optional. Bidders should
contact Invest India’s representative named in the Data Sheet to obtain additional
information on the pre-bid conference.

2.2.4 Bidders shall bear all costs in connection with the preparation and submission of their
proposals, attending pre-bid conference, etc.

2.2.5 Invest India may accept or reject any proposal in its discretion and may ask for any
additional information or vary its requirements, add to or amend the terms, procedure and
protocol set out in RFP for bonafide reasons, which will be notified to all the Bidders
invited to tender. Further Invest India hereby reserves its right to annul the selection
process at any time prior to the contract award without incurring any liability towards the
Tenderers.

2.3 Documents part of RFP

2.3.1 The Request for Proposal (RFP) document for the project consists of the following
sections:
Section 1 - Letter of Invitation
Section 2 - Instructions to Bidders (including Data Sheet)
Section 3 - Technical Proposal - Standard Forms
Section 4 - Financial Proposal - Standard Forms
Section 5 - Terms of Reference
Section 6 - Standard Form of Contract

2.3.2 The prospective bidders are expected to examine all instructions, forms, terms, project
requirements, and other information in the RFP documents. Failure to furnish all
information required as mentioned in the RFP documents or submission of a proposal not
substantially responsive to the RFP documents in every respect will be at the prospective
bidder’s risk and may result in rejection of the proposal.

2.4 Fraud / Corruption

2.4.1 Invest India requires that the bidders participating in the selection process adhere to the
highest ethical standards, both during the selection process and throughout the execution
of the Contract. In pursuance of this policy, Invest India defines, for the purpose of this
paragraph, the terms set forth as applicable to both the parties:

a. “corrupt practice” means the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting, directly or


indirectly, of anything of value (whether in cash or kind) to influence the action of
a public official in the selection process or in Contract execution;

b. “fraudulent practice” means a misrepresentation or omission of facts in order to


influence a selection process or the execution of a Contract;

c. “collusive practices” means a scheme or arrangement between two or more bidders


with or without the knowledge of Invest India, designed to establish prices at
artificial, noncompetitive levels;

d. “coercive practices” means harming or threatening to harm, directly or indirectly,


persons or their property to influence their participation in a procurement process,
or affect the execution of a Contract. Invest India will reject a proposal for award
if it comes to know that the bidder recommended for award has, directly or through
an agent, engaged in corrupt, fraudulent, collusive or coercive practices in
competing for the Contract in question; and

2.4.2 Invest India will terminate the Contract, if already awarded and will declare the bidder
ineligible, either indefinitely or for a stipulated period of time, to be awarded a Contract, if
at any time it determines that the bidder has, directly or through an agent, engaged in
corrupt, fraudulent, collusive or coercive practices in competing for, or in executing, a
Contract.
2.4.3 Bidders shall be aware of the provisions on fraud and corruption prescribed in the specific
clauses in the General Conditions of Contract.

2.4.4 Bidders shall furnish information on commissions and gratuities, if any, paid or to be paid
to agents relating to this proposal with details of name and address of agents, amount, and
purpose, during contract execution as per details in the Financial Proposal submission form
(Section 4).

2.5 Only one Proposal

2.5.1 Bidders will submit only one proposal. If a Bidder submits or participates in more than one
proposal, all such proposals shall be disqualified.

2.6 Proposal Validity

2.6.1 The Data Sheet indicates how long Bidders’ proposals must remain valid after the
submission date. During this period, Bidders shall ensure the availability of professional
staff nominated in the Proposal. Should the need arise, Invest India may request Bidders
to extend the validity period of their proposal further by 60 days. Bidders who agree to
such extension shall confirm that they maintain the availability of the professional staff
nominated in the Proposal, or in their confirmation of extension of validity of the Proposal,
Bidders could submit new staff in replacement, which would be considered in the final
evaluation for Contract award. Bidders, who do not agree, have the right to refuse to extend
the validity of their proposals.

2.7 Clarification and Amendment of RFP Documents

2.7.1 Bidders may request for clarifications on any part of the RFP documents up to the number
of days indicated in the Data Sheet before the proposal submission date. Any request for
clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic means to Invest India’s
address indicated in the Data Sheet. Invest India will respond in writing, or by standard
electronic means and will send written copies of the response (including an explanation of
the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) to all Bidders. Should Invest India
deem it necessary to amend the RFP as a result of a clarification, it shall do so by the
following procedure.

2.7.2 At any time before the submission of Proposals, Invest India may amend the RFP by
issuing an addendum in writing or by standard electronic means. The addendum shall be
uploaded on the Invest India website and will be binding on them. To give Bidders
reasonable time in which to take an amendment into account in their Proposals, Invest
India may, if the amendment is substantial, extend the deadline for the submission of
Proposals.

2.7.3 Pre-bid conference: Pre bid conference will be held as specified in the Data Sheet for
clarifying issues and doubts, if any, concerning the subject matter of study. Inputs from the
prospective bidders will also be sought if considered necessary.

2.8 Preparation of Proposals

2.8.1 The Proposal as well as all related correspondence exchanged by the bidders and Invest
India, shall be written in the language (s) specified in the Data Sheet.

2.8.2 In preparing their Proposal, bidders are expected to examine in detail all the documents
comprising the RFP. Material deficiencies in providing the information requested may
result in rejection of a Proposal.

2.8.3 Language: Documents to be issued by the bidders, as part of this assignment must be in
English.

2.8.4 The Bid may be signed either by the Principal Officer of the Agency or his duly Authorized
Representative, in which case the bid shall be accompanied by a certificate of authority. A
bid which does not fulfill this criterion will be treated as non-est and will be liable to
be rejected.

2.9 Earnest Money Deposit (EMD)

2.9.1 The Bidders must submit an Earnest Money deposit of INR 100,000 in the form of a bank
draft along with a Technical proposal. [DPIIT recognized startups & MSMEs are exempt]

2.9.2 The EMD shall be in Indian Rupees only. The Bank Draft should be drawn in favour of
Invest India and payable at New Delhi.

2.9.3 Unsuccessful Bidder’s EMD will be discharged / refunded as promptly as possible as but
not later than 30 days after the final selection.

2.9.4 The successful Bidder’s EMD will be discharged only after the completion of the contract
papers.

2.9.5 The EMD shall be forfeited:

a. If a Bidder withdraws the bid after the final date of submission and during the period
of bid validity specified by the Bidder on the Bid Form.

b. Or in case of a successful Bidder, if the Bidder fails to sign the contract; or

c. If a bidder fails to furnish the Performance Guarantee.

2.9.6 Proposals not accompanied by EMD will not be considered for Technical and Financial
evaluation.

2.10 Pre-Qualification Criteria

2.10.1 A pre-qualification criterion will be applied to short-list the bidders for technical and
financial evaluation. The criteria are as mentioned in the Data Sheet.

2.10.2 Documentary proof for pre-qualification criteria is essential without which the proposal
will be rejected. Technical and Financial evaluation will be done only for the bidders who
have submitted EMD and are satisfying the above pre-qualification criteria.

2.11 Technical Proposal

2.11.1 Bidders are required to submit an original Full Technical Proposal in an email to
[email protected] [cc to [email protected]] with the subject
“Technical Bid - *AGENCY NAME* - Selection of Agency for Centralized Contact
Center Operations”. The Data Sheet indicates the format of the Technical Proposal to be
submitted. Submission of the wrong type of Technical Proposal will result in the Proposal
being deemed non-responsive. The Technical Proposal shall provide the information
indicated in the following paras from (a) to (g) using the attached Standard Forms (Section
3).

a. Format of letter to be submitted by the Bidder along with the Proposal (Form TECH-
1 of Section 3)

b. A brief description of the Bidders’ organization and an outline of recent experience of


the Bidder, assignments of a similar nature are required in (Form TECH-2 of Section
3). For the assignment, the outline should indicate the names of Professional staff who
participated, duration of the assignment, Contract amount, and bidder’s involvement.
Information should be provided only for those assignments for which the bidder was
earlier awarded Contract as an individual Agency or as a lead partner in a Consortium.
Assignments completed by individual Professional staff working privately or through
other Companies cannot be claimed as the experience of the bidder, or that of the
Agency’s associates, but can be claimed by the Professional staff themselves in their
CVs. Bidders should be prepared to substantiate the claimed experience, if so,
requested by Invest India.

c. Comments and suggestions may be proposed on the Terms of Reference including


workable suggestions that could improve the quality/ effectiveness of the assignment.
The bidder, however, should not make any deviation from the Terms of Reference,
which reduces the scope of services. (Form TECH-3 of Section 3). The bidder may
suggest their own methodology, work plan over and above the ones detailed in the
project report.

d. A description of the approach, methodology, and work plan for performing the
assignment covering the following subjects: technical approach and methodology,
work plan, activity schedule, organization and staffing schedule. Guidance on the
content of this section of the Technical Proposals is provided under (Form TECH-4 of
Section 3). The work plan should be consistent with the Work Schedule (Form TECH-
5 of Section 3) which will show in the form of a bar chart, the timing proposed for
each activity.
e. The team composition by area of expertise, the position that would be assigned to each
staff team member, and their tasks (Form TECH-6 of Section 3).

f. Comments, if any, on the Standard form of Contract as given in Section 3 of the RFP
may be given as per Form TECH 6. However, Invest India is not bound to accept any/
all suggestions proposed and may reject any such suggestion.

g. Information on conflicting activities, if any, should be given as per Form TECH-8.

2.11.2 The Technical Proposal shall not include any financial information. A Technical Proposal
containing financial information shall be declared non-responsive.

2.12 Financial Proposals

2.12.1 The bidder should submit the financial bid as per the format indicated in FORM FIN 2 in
a separate file with password protected document

2.12.2 The quote should be in Indian Rupees and should be inclusive of all taxes as applicable.
The Financial Proposal shall be prepared using the attached Standard Form (Section 4).

2.13 Conflict of Interest

2.13.1 Invest India’s policy requires that bidders should provide professional, objective, and
impartial advice and at all times hold Invest India’s interests paramount and strictly avoid
conflicts with other assignments or their own corporate interests.

2.13.2 Without limitation on the generality of the foregoing, Companies, and any of their
affiliates, shall be considered to have a conflict of interest and shall not be recruited, under
any of the circumstances.

2.14 Conflicting activities

2.14.1 A firm that has been engaged to provide goods, works, or services for a project, and each
of its affiliates, shall be disqualified from providing consulting services related to those
goods, works or services. Conversely, a firm hired to provide consulting services for the
preparation or implementation of a project, and each of its affiliates, shall be disqualified
from subsequently providing goods, works or services for such preparation or
implementation.
2.15 Conflicting assignments

2.15.1 Neither consultants (including their personnel and sub-consultants) nor any of their
affiliates shall be hired for any assignment that, by its nature, may be in conflict with
another assignment of the consultants. As an example, consultants hired to prepare
engineering design for an infrastructure project shall not be engaged to prepare an
independent environmental assessment for the same project, and consultants assisting a
client in the privatization on public assets shall neither purchase nor advise purchasers of,
such assets. Similarly, consultants hired to prepare Terms of Reference (TOR) for an
assignment shall not be hired for the assignment in question.

2.16 Ownership Rights

2.16.1 Ownership of all new artifacts (data, reports, presentations and other publications) will rest
with Invest India and it will have the right to resell/ implement the same with any other
organization.

2.17 Conflicting relationships

2.17.1 The bidder (including its personnel) that has a business or family relationship with a
member of Invest India’s staff who is directly or indirectly involved in any part of (i) the
preparation of the Terms of Reference of the assignment, (ii) the selection process for such
assignment, or (iii) supervision of the Contract, may not be awarded a Contract, unless the
conflict stemming from this relationship has been resolved in a manner acceptable to Invest
India throughout the selection process and execution of the Contract.

2.17.2 Bidders have an obligation to disclose any situation of actual or potential conflict that
impacts their capacity to serve the best interest of Invest India, or that may reasonably be
perceived as having this effect. Failure to disclose the said situations may lead to the
disqualification of the bidder or the termination of its Contract.

2.18 Negotiations

2.18.1 No negotiations will be allowed. However, after the bidder is finally selected, the detailed
work-plan and sequence of activities will be finalized in consultation with Invest India.
2.19 Performance security

2.19.1 For the due performance of the assignment in accordance with the terms and conditions
specified, the selected Agency shall on the day or before signing the contract which shall
not be later than 30 (thirty) days from the issue of the Letter of Award, furnish to Invest
India a performance security in the form of an irrevocable Bank Guarantee for an amount
equal to ten percent (10%) of cost mentioned in the financial bid. This performance
guarantee will be released after successful completion of the whole Project.

2.19.2 The Bank Guarantee/s shall be in favour of Invest India, issued by any nationalized or
scheduled Indian Bank, approved by the Reserve Bank of India. The Bank Guarantee/s
shall be on the Proforma, which shall be furnished by Invest India.

2.19.3 It is expressly understood and agreed that the performance security is intended to secure
performance of entire contract. It is also expressly understood and agreed that the
performance security is not intended to cover all the damages detailed / stipulated in
various clauses in the Contract document.

2.19.4 Should the assignment period, for whatever reason be extended, the bidder, shall at his own
cost, get the validity period of Bank Guarantee in respect of performance security
furnished by him extended and shall furnish the extended / revised Bank Guarantee to
Invest India before the expiry date of the Bank Guarantee originally furnished.

2.20 Confidentiality

2.20.1 Information relating to evaluation of Proposals and recommendations concerning awards


shall not be disclosed to the bidders who submitted the Proposals or to other persons not
officially concerned with the process. The undue use by any bidder of confidential
information related to the process may result in rejection of its Proposal and adversely
affect its future prospects.

2.21 Authorization of signatory:

2.21.1 The Bid may be signed either by the Principal Officer of the Agency or his duly Authorized
Representative, in which case he/she shall submit a certificate of authority. All certificates
and documents (including any clarifications sought and any subsequent correspondences)
received hereby, shall, as far as possible, be furnished and signed by the Representative or
the Principal Officer. The Principal Officer/ authorized representative of the Agency shall
sign the proposal and also initial all pages of the original Technical and Financial
Proposals. The authorization shall be in the form of a written power of attorney
accompanying the Proposal or in any other form demonstrating that the representative has
been dully authorized to sign. The power or authorization, or any other document
consisting of adequate proof of the ability of the signatory to bind the Bidder shall be
annexed to the Bid.

2.22 Submission, Receipt, and Opening of Proposals

2.22.1 The original proposals need to be submitted via email to [email protected]


[Cc to [email protected]] and must be addressed to:

Diksha Nigam

Invest India

Vigyan Bhawan Annexe

Maulana Azad Road | New Delhi 110011

M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939

2.22.2 It is proposed to have the following E-file System for this bid:

a. E-file 1:
i. Demand Draft for Earnest Money Deposit [DPIIT Recognized Startups and MSME are
exempt from this criterion]
ii. Technical Bid
b. E-file 2: Financial Bid (encrypted with password)
2.22.3 Details of the contents of the envelopes are given in the following table:

• The Bidder must submit an EMD which shall be in the form of a Demand
Draft in Indian Rupees only. The Bank Draft should be drawn in favour of
Invest India and payable at New Delhi. [Further physical copy of EMD
shall be submitted at Invest India office premises on or before the due date
for bid submission addressed to [DPIIT recognized startups & MSMEs are
exempt]:

Diksha Nigam

Invest India

Vigyan Bhawan Annexe

Maulana Azad Road | New Delhi 110011


E-file 1:
EMD, Pre- M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939

Qualification E: [email protected]
Proposal & Cc to: [email protected]
Technical
Proposal
• The Pre-Qualification Proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the
requirements specified in the data sheet of this RFP. The Pre-Qualification
Proposal should be submitted in softcopy The words “Pre-Qualification
Proposal – Invest India Centralized Contact Center Operations” shall be
written on the softcopy which shall be emailed to
[email protected] and cc to
[email protected] .

• The Technical Proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the


requirements specified in S. No. 2.10, Data Sheet and in the Tech forms in
Section 3 prescribed in this RFP. The Technical Bid should be submitted
via email on the below mentioned ID on or before the bid submission due
date- [email protected]; [Cc to
[email protected]]

• The first e-file needs to contain the Agency name and EMD demand draft
• The Financial bid shall be submitted in a password protected e-file over
email as per the format prescribed in Section 4 of this RFP.

• The Financial bid shall be submitted on Soft Copy only.

• The words “Financial bid- Selection of Agency for Centralized Contact


E-file 2: Center Operations” shall be written on the soft copy. The soft copy shall
Financial bid be signed by the authorized signatory using appropriate measures on all
the pages before being put in the e-mail and soft copy must contain digital
signature on all pages. The e-file should also be named “Financial bid-
Selection of Agency for Centralized Contact Center Operations”

Note: E-file must be password protected or else will lead to rejection of the bid
and passwords will be disclosed only at the time of opening of the financial bid.
Both E-file 1 and E-file 2 should be attached in the email which shall be
mailed. The e-mail must clearly indicate the name of the project (“Proposal
for Selection of Agency for Centralized Contact Center Operations”)

Email This email shall be sent to [email protected] [Cc to

[email protected]] on or before the due date and time 11th


January 2021, 4:00 pm.

Proposal received after the given deadline will not be accepted.

2.22.4 Invest India shall not be responsible for misplacement, loss or premature opening of the
mail if not named clearly. This circumstance may be a case for proposal rejection. If the
Financial Proposal is not submitted in a separate file with password protection duly marked
as indicated above, this will constitute grounds for declaring the Proposal non-responsive.

2.22.5 The Proposals must be sent to the email id indicated in the Data Sheet and received not
later than the time and the date indicated in the Data Sheet. Any proposal received after the
deadline for submission shall be disqualified.
2.23 Proposal Evaluation

2.23.1 From the time the Proposals are opened and up to the time the Contract is awarded, the
bidders shall not contact Invest India on any matter related to its Technical and/or
Financial Proposal. Any effort by bidder to influence Invest India in the examination,
evaluation, ranking of Proposals, canvassing in any form or recommendation for award of
Contract, may result in the rejection of the bidder’s proposal.

2.23.2 Evaluators of Technical Proposals shall have no access to the Financial Proposals until the
technical evaluation is concluded.

2.24 Evaluation of Technical Proposals

2.23.1 Proposals which are not supported by adequate proof of the Signatory’s Authority or are
not accompanied by an EMD will not be evaluated.

2.23.2 The Evaluation Committee shall evaluate the technical proposals only for those bidders
who satisfy the pre-qualification criteria as referred in clause no. 3 of data sheet. The
technical proposals will be evaluated on the basis of their responses to the Terms of
Reference, applying the evaluation criteria, sub-criteria, and point system specified in the
Data Sheet. Evaluations will be based on documentary evidence submitted by the bidder
with respect to pre-qualification / evaluation / selection criteria. Each responsive proposal
will be given a technical score (Ts). A Proposal shall be rejected at this stage if it does not
respond to important aspects of the RFP, and particularly the Terms of Reference or if it
fails to achieve the minimum technical score indicated in the Data Sheet. The Technical
proposals which are unsigned and incomplete shall not be evaluated.

2.24.1 The proposal shall be rejected if bidder does not fulfill the eligibility criteria or the validity
period of the proposal is less than 120 days.

2.24.2 During the process of evaluation of the technical proposal, the bidder will be required to
make presentation on its Proposal covering Experience/ Technical Proposal including
Implementation Methodology, Team Composition, Work Schedule and Activity Schedule.
The date and time of the presentation will be intimated individually.
2.25 Public Opening and Evaluation of Financial Proposals

2.25.1 After the technical evaluation is completed, the qualified bidders shall be informed about
the time and location for opening the Financial Proposals. Bidder’s attendance at the
opening of Financial Proposals is optional but it shall be recorded and signed by all present.

2.25.2 Financial Proposals shall be opened publicly in the presence of the technically qualified
bidders’ representatives who choose to attend. The name of the bidders whose technical
proposal is found responsive (i.e. identified benchmark) shall be read out. The Financial
Proposal of the bidders who meet the minimum qualifying mark will then be inspected to
confirm that they have remained sealed and unopened. These Financial Proposals of the
bidders who meet the qualifying mark as indicated in the Data Sheet shall be then opened,
and the prices read aloud and recorded.

2.25.3 Financial proposals of only those bidders will be evaluated, who secure a minimum of 60%
marks in the technical evaluation. The proposal with the lowest total bid value (Part A and
Part B) as given in FORM FIN 2 shall be given a financial score of 100 and other proposals
given financial scores that are inversely proportional to their total bid value.

2.26 Combined Evaluation

2.26.1 Based on the criteria in item No. 19 of Data Sheet-Part II the combined score shall be
obtained by weighing the technical and financial scores in the ratio of 80:20 and adding
them up. On the basis of combined weighted score for technical and financial, the bidder
shall be ranked in terms of total score obtained. The proposal obtaining the highest
combined score in evaluation will be ranked as H-1 followed by the proposals securing
lesser marks as H2, H3, etc. The bidder securing the highest combined marks will be
considered for award of the contract.
Example:
As an example, the following procedure will be followed. The minimum qualifying marks
for technical qualifications is 60 and the weightage of the technical bids and financial bids
is kept as 80:20. Assuming that in response to the RFP, 3 proposals, A, B & C are received.
The technical evaluation committee awards them 75, 80, and 90 marks respectively. The
minimum qualifying marks are 60. All the 3 proposals are, therefore, found technically
suitable and their financial proposals will be opened after notifying the date and time of
bid opening to the successful participants. Assuming that the evaluation committee
examines the financial proposals and the quoted total bid values are as under:
Proposal Total Bid Value
A : Rs.120
B : Rs.100
C : Rs.110
Using the formula LTBV / TBV, where LTBV stands for Lowest Total Bid Value and TBV
stands for Total Bid Value, the committee will give them the following points for financial
proposals:
A : 100 / 120 = 83 points
B : 100 / 100 = 100 points
C : 100 / 110 = 91 points
In the combined evaluation, thereafter, the evaluation committee will calculate the
combined technical and financial score as under:
Proposal A : 75x0.80 + 83x0.20 = 76.6 points.
Proposal B : 80x0.80 + 100x0.20 = 84 points
Proposal C : 90x0.80 + 91x0.20 = 90.2 points.
The three proposals in the combined technical and financial evaluation will be ranked as
under:
Proposal A: 76.6 points : H3
Proposal B: 84 points : H2
Proposal C: 90.2 points : H1
Proposal C at the total bid value of Rs.110 will, therefore, declared as winner and
recommended for approval, to the competent authority.

In the event of a tie in the final scores, the agency having the lower financial quote amongst
the two would be given preference.
2.27 Information

2.27.1 Information relating to evaluation of Proposals and recommendations concerning awards


shall not be disclosed to the bidders who submitted the Proposals or to other persons not
officially concerned with the process. The undue use by any bidders of confidential
information related to the process may result in the rejection of its Proposal and may
adversely affect its future prospects.

2.28 Taxes

2.28.1 The bidder shall include in Bid Price all local taxes and duties as applicable on amounts
payable by the Agency under the Contract. All taxes, duties and other impositions as
applicable in India shall always be deemed to be included in the Financial Proposal.

2.28.2 The Financial Proposal shall include all commercial implications and all applicable taxes
should also be included in the Financial Proposal.

2.28.3 Bid/Contract price shall remain fixed for the entire Contract period.

2.29 Award of Contract

2.29.1 The bidder securing the highest combined score will be considered for award of Contract.

2.29.2 Invest India shall award the Contract to the selected bidder by issue of Letter of Award
(LOA) and notify the same on Invest India website.

2.29.3 The selected bidder is expected to commence the assignment on the date and at the location
specified in the LOA/ Contract.

2.29.4 If the selected bidder does not sign the Contract within the stipulated period or does not
submit the Performance Guarantee within time, the LOA may be cancelled and the bidder
securing the next higher combined marks will be considered for award of Contract.
2.30 Data Sheet

25. Name of the client: Invest India, Invest India is the National Investment Promotion
and Facilitation Agency of India and acts as the first point of
reference for investors in India.

Method of selection: Combined Quality cum Cost Based System (CQCCBS)

26. Documents part of RFP: The RFP consists of the Bidding Terms and Draft
Agreement. It details out all information that may be needed by
the potential bidders to understand the financial terms and
various bidding processes and explains the contractual terms
Invest India wishes to specify at this stage. It also consists of a
draft Agreement that needs to be signed between Invest India
and the successful bidder.

27. Pre-Qualification Criteria


(f) The bidder must be either a company or a limited
liability partnership registered under the Indian
Companies Act 1956/ 2013 or a society registered under
Societies Registration Act. (Registration Certificate or
Startup certificate under DPIIT)

(g) The bidder must have been in operation for at least three
years as on 1st December 2020 (Incorporation/
Registration Certificate required)

(h) The bidder must have a dedicated manpower size of at


least 100 people. (HR Certificate)

(i) The bidder must have annual revenue of at least INR 5


Crores during last three financial years from Indian
operations (CA Audited certificate and income tax
returns for last 3 financial years)
[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this
criterion]

(j) The bidder must have successfully completed at least 2


projects of similar nature in last 3 years with at least 1
project having a minimum order value of INR 50 lakh
each. (Copy of work order, Contract for each of the
mentioned assignments required)
[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this
criterion]

Documentary proof with respect to the above criteria is


essential without which the proposal will be rejected.
Technical and Financial evaluation will be done only for the
bidders satisfying the above criteria.
In case Invest India requires, the bidder will facilitate in the
following:

• Examination of project implemented


• Provide 3 references from prior customers
28. Earnest Money Deposit Yes. The Bidder must submit an EMD of INR 1,00,000 in
requested: Indian Rupees in the form of a Demand Draft drawn in favour
of Invest India payable at New Delhi.
[DPIIT recognized startups & MSMEs are exempt]

29. Technical and Financial Yes


Proposals requested:

Name, objectives, and As detailed in TOR (Section 5)


description of the
assignment:

30. Pre-bid conference: Date: 29th December 2020


Time: 03:00 pm
Mode: Virtual Meeting

Contact details for pre-bid conference:


Invest India,
First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,
Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi – 110 001
M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939
E: [email protected]
Bidders may confirm their participation in the pre-bid
conference to the above person.

31. Clauses on fraud and Clause 3 of Section 2


corruption in the Contract:

32. Number of days during 3 working days. No clarifications will be entertained during the
which clarifications to be last three working days before the last date of submission of the
sought before the Bid bid.
submission date:

Address for requesting Diksha Nigam


clarifications is: Invest India,
First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,
Maulana Azad Road,
New Delhi – 110 001 M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939
E: [email protected] [cc to
[email protected]]
33. Language(s) of the English
submitted proposals: The Contract to be signed with the successful Agency shall be
written in the English language, which shall be the language
that shall govern the contractual relations between Invest India
and the successful Agency.

34. (i) Without diluting the Yes


concept of total
responsibility of the Agency
awarded the Contract, short
listed Agency/entity may
associate with other short
listed Agency: Prior
approval of Invest India
required.

(ii) Reports that are part English


of the assignment must be
written in the following
language(s):

35. Training is a specific Yes


component of this
assignment:

36. Taxes: As per Clause 27 of Section 2


Amounts payable by the
Invest India to the Agency Yes
under the Contract shall be
the Contract price inclusive
of all taxes and duties and
after deductions indicated in
clause 6.2.7

37. Bidder to state cost in the Cost to be stated in Indian Rupees


national currency:

38. Proposals must remain valid Date: 21st April 2021


for one hundred twenty (120
days) after the submission
date, i.e., until:

39. Address to submit proposal Diksha Nigam


by the Agency: Invest India,
First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,
Maulana Azad Road,
New Delhi – 110 001 M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939
E: [email protected] [cc to
[email protected]]
40. Proposals submission date: Not later than the following date and time:
Date: 11th January 2021
Before: 04:00 pm (Indian Standard Time)

41. Number of points to be given under each evaluation criteria for technical evaluation:

Description of each evaluation criteria: Maximum Marks with


Break-up

(i). Past Experience in work of similar nature 25 Marks


(a) Past experience of similar nature as described in point 5 Marks
number 3(d) of the data sheet and as described in scope of work
clause 5.2, in terms of number of assignments in India,
executed over the last 3 years, each of whose value is above Rs
50 lakhs [DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this
criterion]
(2 Marks)
• No. assignments >1 and <3
(3 Marks)
• No. of Assignments>4 and <7
(5 Marks)
• No. of Assignments over 8
(b) Past experience of working with the Government of India/or 5 Marks
its agencies/or State Government/ or its agencies
(c) Knowledge of “Indian Startup Ecosystem” and “Doing 15 Marks

Business in India” aspects. Understanding of key systems,


policies, practices, operations/ functions, scenarios, depicting
limitations in the administrative systems/ policies/ practices in
their previous projects executed.
Evidenced by Contract/Work/Engagement orders, indicating
details of assignment, client, value of assignment, date of
award etc.

(ii). Manpower, Skill Set, Team Composition & Deployment 30 Marks


Composition of the project team and details of specific
qualifications, skills/ competencies/ expertise of the key
professional staff. Resumes of team members to give details of
Education Qualification, implementation of similar
assignments, relevant services carried out in the last 5 years,
Client/ User Testimonials/ credentials
The breakdown of the marks is as follows
a. Project lead (10 Marks)
b. Query Handling – Team Leader (4 Marks)
c. Query Handling – 7 Resources (Hindi, English and
Regional Language) (2 Marks each)
d. Training- Trainer (6 Marks)

(iii). Understanding of TOR, Methodology and Work Plan 45 Marks


Adequacy of the proposed work plan and methodology in responding
to the TOR

(a). Understanding and adherence of TOR 10 Marks


Demonstrated level of understanding of the project, its purpose,
scope, and bidder's plan for performing the required services as
detailed in scope of work, technical and functional
requirements in the bid, during the entire lifecycle of the
project.
(b). Approach and Methodology: 25 Marks

Comprehensiveness and robustness of Project Plan (level of


detail of activities, risk mitigation and practicality). This
criterion will be evaluated based on the following parameters:
(v) Comprehensiveness of plan with respect to all
activities that need to be undertaken to meets the
requirements specified in the scope of work
(vi) Quality of the solution including innovations
(vii) Resource planning and allocation
(viii) Data collection strategy
(c). Work Plan and Time Schedule: Appropriateness of 10 Marks
prescribed time frames.
Based on work order of assignments enclosed along with the
Technical proposal, marks will be assigned.

Total 100 Marks

The bidder will be required to make presentation on its Proposal covering


Experience/Technical Proposal including Implementation Methodology, Team Composition,
Work Schedule and Activity Schedule, the date and time for which will be intimated
individually.

42. Financial Evaluation:


Invest India shall shortlist all the Companies who secure the minimum required marks. The
minimum cut off will be 60 % (Sixty Percent). Financial proposals of only the Companies
scoring 60% in technical bid will be evaluated.
The proposal with the lowest total bid value shall be given a financial score of 100 and other
proposals given financial scores that are inversely proportional to their prices.

43. Combined Evaluation:


Based on the criteria in item No. 18 the Technical Scores will be assigned and will have a
weightage of 80%. The Financial Proposals will be allotted a weightage of 20%. The total
score shall be obtained by weighing the technical and financial scores and adding them up. On
the basis of combined weighted technical and financial score, the bidder shall be ranked in
terms of total score obtained. The proposal obtaining the highest total combined technical and
financial score will be ranked as H-1 followed by the proposals securing lesser marks as H2,
H3, etc. The bidder securing the highest combined marks will be considered for award of the
contract.

44. Address for correspondence: Diksha Nigam


Invest India,
First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,
Maulana Azad Road,
New Delhi – 110 001 M: +91 9205058118 / 8377888939
E: [email protected] [cc to
[email protected]]

45. Return of unopened The financial proposals of those bidders that do not meet the
financial proposals minimum qualifying criteria or considered non-responsive to
the RFP shall be returned within 30 days of the completion of
technical evaluation process.

46. Terms of Payment The financial bid is to be submitted as per Financial Bid
Proposal Sheet, Form Fin 2.
The terms of payments are as below:
b) End of month payment as per the financial bid amount.
Note: The Monitoring Committee will conduct a quarterly
review of the project activities and deliverables to gauge output
and to approve activities for the forthcoming period.
The Performance Bank Guarantee may be discharged at the
final payment stage.

47. Commencement of On the date and at the location specified in the LOA/Contract
assignment:

48. Expected Timelines:


(iii) Recruiting Within 1 week after intimation by Invest India team over email
additional
employees.
(iv) Training for Within 1 week from signing of contract
contact center
operations
2.31 Pre-Qualification checklist

Pre-Qualification Criteria and Supporting Documents Compliance


X/√
a. Is your organization registered and has been in operation for at least
three years?
[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this criterion]

Attach Incorporation/ Registration Certificate or any other supporting


document.

b. Do you have a dedicated manpower size of at least 100 people?

Attach list of employees undertaking the work along with designation


and qualification.

c. Does your company have an annual revenue of at least INR 5 Crores


during last three financial years from Indian operations
[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this criterion]

Attach the audited account sheet/ P&L Sheet for last three financial
years,

d. Have you successfully completed at least 3 similar projects over the


last 3 years with at least 1 project having a minimum project cost of at
least INR 50 lakhs?
[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this criterion]

Attach list of projects with year undertaken, project value and client
name.

Have you
. attached the INR 1,00,000 Demand Draft for EMD?
[DPIIT Recognized Startups and MSME are exempt from this criterion]
Documentary proof is essential without which the proposal will be rejected. Technical and
Financial evaluation will be done only for the bidders satisfying the above criteria.
SECTION 3: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL- STANDARD FORMS
TECH FORM NAME X/√ Mention list of all
supporting documents
FORMS
attached (if any)

TECH-1 Letter of proposal submission (see Form Tech


1A)

Bidder’s Authorization Certificate (see Form


Tech 1B – in case ------)

Bidder Details (Form Tech 1C)


Bidder’s organization and experience
TECH-2
(A). Bidder’s organization

[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from


this criterion]

(B). Bidder’s experience

TECH-3 Comments or suggestions on the Terms of


Reference

TECH-4 Description of the approach, methodology and


work plan for performing the assignment/ job

TECH-5 Work Schedule

TECH-6 Team composition and task assignments/ jobs

(A). Summary of project team / team


composition

(B). Curriculum Vitae (CV) for proposed


professional staff

TECH-7 Comments/ modifications suggested on Draft


Contract
TECH-8 Information regarding conflicting activities
and wrong declaration thereof
(On Bidder’s Letter-head)
Form Tech 1A: Letter of Proposal Submission

[Location, Date]
To

Invest India,

First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,

Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi – 110 001

Dear Sir

We, the undersigned, offer to provide the complete solutions for Centralized Contact Center
Operations, in accordance with your Request for Proposal dated 21st December 2020. We are
hereby submitting our proposal, which includes this Technical Proposal, and also the Financial
Proposal as indicated in clause 10 and 11 of Section 2 sealed under a separate envelope.

We undertake the total responsibility for performance of the contract, if awarded to us.

We hereby declare that all the information and statements made in this proposal are true and accept
that any misrepresentation contained in it may lead to our disqualification.

We understand that Invest India is not bound to accept any proposal it receives.

Yours faithfully,
*Authorized Signatory [In full and Designation]:
Name and Title of Signatory:
Name of Bidder:
Address:
* NB: Authorization in form of power of Attorney is required on a non-judicial Stamp Paper.
Form Tech 1B: Bidder’s Authorization Certificate

To,

Invest India,

First Floor, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe,

Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi – 110 001

<Bidder’s Name> __________________________, <Designation> ______________ is


hereby authorized to sign relevant documents on behalf of the Agency in dealing with proposal of
reference <Reference No. & Date> ____________________. <Bidder’s Name> is also authorized
to attend meetings and submit technical & financial information as may be required by you in the
course of processing above said proposal.

Thanking you,

Authorized Signatory.
_________________________

<Agency Name>

Seal
Form Tech 1C: Bidder Details

1 Agency Information Details

1.1 Agency Name

1.2 Details

Address

Phone number

Email

Fax

Website

1.3 Contact Person: Chief Executive/


Head of Operations

Name

Designation

Mobile Number

Email

Fax

1.4 Contact Person: Project Leader

Name

Designation

Mobile Number

Email

Fax
Form Tech 2: Bidder’s Organization and Experience

(A) - Bidder’s Organization

[Provide here a brief description of the background and organization of your Agency/entity and
each associate for this assignment. The brief description should include ownership details, date
and place of incorporation/ registration of the agency, objectives of the agency etc.

Years 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Average

Turnover (INR)

Attach Incorporation/ Registration Certificate, Audited Account Sheets/ P&L Sheets.


[DPIIT Recognized Startups are exempt from this criterion]

(B) - Bidder’s Experience

Using the format below, provide information on each assignment/job for which your agency, had
legally contracted either individually as a corporate entity or as one of the major partners within
an association, for carrying out assignment/job similar to the ones requested under this
assignment/job (exact assignment / job details may be submitted).
Agency’s name: ____________________________________

Assignment Name: Country:

Location within Country: Key professional staff Provided by Your


Firm / entity(profiles):

Name of Client: No. of Staff:

Address: No. of Staff-Months; duration of


assignment:

Start Date Completion Date Approx. Value of Services (in INR):


(Month/Year): (Month/Year):

Name of Associated Consultants, if any: No. of Months of Key professional staff,


provided by Associated Consultants:

Name of Senior Staff (Project Director/Coordinator, Team Leader) involved and


functions performed:

Narrative Description of Project:

Description of Actual Services Provided by Your Staff:

Note: Please provide documentary evidence i.e. copy of work order, Contract for each of above
mentioned assignment. The experience shall not be considered for evaluation, if such
requisite support documents are not provided with the Proposal
Form Tech 3: Comments and Suggestions on the understanding of the Terms of Reference

On the Terms of Reference

Suggest and justify here any modifications or improvement to the Terms of Reference you are
proposing to improve performance in carrying out the assignment/job (such as deleting some
activity you consider unnecessary, or adding another, or proposing a different phasing of the
activities). Such suggestions should be concise and to the point, and incorporated in your Proposal
inter-alia indicating the charges/ amounts for proposed additions/ deletions.

However, Invest India is not bound to accept any/all suggestions proposed and may reject any
such suggestion.
Form Tech 4: Description of Approach, Methodology and Work Plan for Performing the
Assignment/ Job

[Technical approach, methodology and work plan are key components of the Technical Proposal].

You are suggested to present your Technical Proposal divided into the following three chapters:

a). Technical Approach and Methodology,

b). Work Plan, and

c). Organization and Staffing

a). Technical Approach and Methodology: In this you should explain your understanding of the
objectives of the Assignment/job, approach to the Assignment/job, methodology for carrying
out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output.
You should highlight the problems being addressed and their importance and explain the
technical approach you would adopt to address them. You should also explain the
methodologies you propose to adopt for query handling and highlight the compatibility of those
methodologies with the proposed approach. The bidder should explain methodology adopted
for handling queries and maintaining database. Bidder should clearly indicate how they will
be using their existing knowledge and past experience of query handling and reporting to add
value in the project.

b). Work Plan: The Bidder should propose and justify the main activities of the Assignment/job,
their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, MIS reporting and governance
mechanism including the format/template of the reports, the number of reports and the
frequency of reports that would be shared with Invest India. The vendor would be expected to
provide details on the IVR Setup, CRM, call monitoring software etc. The proposed work plan
should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of
the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan. A list of the final
deliverables should be included here.

c). Organization and Staffing: The Bidder should propose and justify the structure and
composition of the team. Bidder should list the main disciplines of the Assignment/job, the
key expert responsible, and proposed technical and support staff.
Form Tech 5: Team Composition and Task Assignment/ Jobs
(A) - Summary of Project Team / Team Composition

Nature of Tasks which will be


S. No Name Position
Performed by him/ her
2. (B) - Format of Curriculum Vitae (CV) For Proposed Key professional staff

1. Proposed Position [i.e., team leader, trainer – life skills, trainer – business etc.]:

2. Name of Firm [Insert name of firm proposing the staff]:

3. Name of Staff [Insert full name]:

4. Date of Birth: Nationality:

5. Education [Indicate college/university and other specialized education of staff member, giving
names of institutions, degrees obtained, and dates of obtainment]:

6. Membership of Professional Associations:

7. Other Training [Indicate significant training since degrees under 5 - Education were
obtained]:

8. Employment Record [Starting with present position, list in reverse order every employment
held by staff member since graduation, giving for each employment (see format here below):
dates of employment, name of employing organization, positions held.]:
From [Year]: To [Year]:

Employer:

Positions held:
9. Detailed Tasks Assigned 10. Work Undertaken that Best Illustrates Capability to
Handle the Tasks Assigned

[Among the assignments in which the staff has been involved,


indicate the following information for those assignments that
[List all tasks to be best illustrate staff capability to handle the tasks listed under

performed under this point 10.]

assignment]
Name of assignment or project:

Year:

Location:

Client:

Main project features:

Positions held:

Activities performed:

12. Certification:
I, the undersigned, certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief, this CV correctly describes

myself, my qualifications, and my experience. I understand that any wilful misstatement described

herein may lead to my disqualification or dismissal, if engaged.

Date:
[Signature of staff member or authorized representative of the staff] Day/Month/Year

Full name of staff member: _______________________________________________

Full name of authorized representative: _____________________________________


Form Tech 6: Comments/ Modifications Suggested on Draft Contract

Here the Bidder shall mention any suggestion / views on the draft Contract attached with the RFP
document. The Bidder may also mention here any modifications sought by him in the provisions
of the draft Contract indicating the changes claimed for such modifications. This information shall
be used for evaluation and at the time of the contract signing.

However, Invest India is not bound to accept any/all modifications sought and may reject any
such request of modification.
Form Tech 7: Information regarding Conflicting Activities and Wrong Declaration thereof

Are there any activities carried out by your Agency which are of conflicting nature? If yes, please
furnish details of any such activities. If no, please certify as under:

We hereby declare that our Agency, our associate / group Agency are not indulged in any such
activities which can be termed as the conflicting activities. We also acknowledge that in case of
misrepresentation of the information, our proposals / Contract shall be rejected / terminated by
Invest India without any compensation which decision shall be binding on us.

Authorized Signature [In full and initials]:

Name and Title of Signatory:

Name of Agency:

Address:
SECTION 4: FINANCIAL PROPOSAL- STANDARD
FORMS
Form Fin 1: Financial Proposal Submission Form

[Location, Date]

To: Invest India,

Dear Sir

We, the undersigned, offer to provide the Assignment/job for [Centralized Contact Center
Operations] in accordance with your Request for Proposal dated [21-12-2020] and our Technical
Proposal. Our attached Financial Proposals (in one sealed envelope) is for the sum of [Insert
amount(s) in words and figures]. This amount is inclusive of all taxes. We hereby confirm that the
financial proposals are unconditional, and we acknowledge that any condition attached to financial
proposal shall result in rejection of our financial proposals.

Our Financial Proposals shall be binding upon us up to expiration of the validity period of the
Proposal, i.e. till _____.

Name and Address, Amount and Purpose of Commission and Gratuity to be paid to the Agents
relating to the Proposal and Contract execution, if we are awarded the Contract are listed below

We understand that you are not bound to accept any Proposal you receive.

Yours sincerely,
Authorized Signature [In full and initials]:
Name and Title of Signatory:
Name of Agency:
Address:
Form Fin 2: Lump sum Cost as per TOR of Section 5

BID PROPOSAL SHEETS

Name of the work: Centralized Contact Center Operations

Quotes submitted towards providing complete solutions to Invest India, the National Investment
Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India and acts as the first point of reference for investors in
India, in accordance with the scope of work and terms & conditions mentioned under Scope of
Services in clause 5.2, Section 5.

S. No. Scope of Work INR

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

TOTAL BID VALUE (inclusive of all taxes)

(The amount should be inclusive of all Taxes and for the entire scope of services)

Note:
• The prices stated in the Contract shall be deemed to include all amounts payable for the use of
patents, copyrights, registered charges, trademarks and payments for any other intellectual property
rights.
• For the purpose of evaluation for Selection of Bidder, the total cost inclusive of taxes of all the
above will be considered.
• Bidder must submit their financial bid for the total scope of work.
• The prices stated should be on the per seat basis.

Signature of the Authorized Signatory

Place: Name:
Date: Designation:
Name & Address of the Bidder:
SECTION 5: TERMS OF REFERENCE
5.1 Introduction

5.3 Scope of Work

5.4 Terms of Payment


5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 About Invest India


Invest India is set up as a nonprofit venture under the DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and
Industries, Government of India. Operationalized in early 2010, the Agency has been set up as
the dedicated investment promotion agency (IPA) for attracting investments into the country in a
structured, focused and comprehensive manner.

Invest India is the first point of reference for foreign investors, and investment promotion and
facilitation constitute the core mandate of the Agency. Its services include providing quality
input and support services to Indian and overseas enterprises — through granulated, sector- and
state-specific information, assistance with location identification, expedition of regulatory
approvals, facilitation of meetings with relevant government officials, organization of investment
road shows and roundtables, and aftercare services that include initiating remedial action on
problems faced by investors by involving the government department concerned.

Within Invest India, Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to
build a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and Startups in the country. The Startup India
Hub was announced by the Hon`ble PM on 16th January 2016 and became operational on 1st April
2016. The Hub’s mandate is to serve as a single point of contact for the entire Startup Ecosystem
and enable exchange of knowledge and access to funding

5.1.2 Project Details


The Start-Up India has a dedicated toll-free helpline to provide mass facilitation. Start-Up India
receives calls from all stakeholders including but not limited to individuals, start-ups, mentors,
incubators, corporates etc. Start-Up India envisions that moving to a centralized contact center
operation would provide standardized and high-quality customer experience.

5.1.3 Objectives
It is proposed to set up a “Centralized Contact Center Operations” to fulfil two broad objectives-

• To provide time bound and satisfactory response to queries


• To provide reliable and on-time reporting and metrics

5.2 Scope of Work and Deliverables


Invest India proposes to engage an Agency for a period of two years subject to extension based on
periodic performance review. The proposed team of 7 members should have an optimal
combination of resources for following tasks — Query Handling, Email Response Management,
Information capturing and transcript mailing, Analytics and Quality. The team should be able to
handle queries in Hindi, English and other regional languages (each resource should be able to
answer query in at least 1 regional language).
Total Operational Hours: 5 days a week (9am to 6pm tentative). It can be extended in case of
any marketing event by Invest India. Such information shall be given to the Vendor through email
at least 2 days in advance

Systems: The contact center vendor has to provide all infrastructure including hardware systems,
operating systems and security measures for both staffing and systems including but not limited to
the following:

▪ CTI server, CTI Solution including Automated Call Distributor, Queuing, Call Recording
and Monitoring, Reporting and other functionalities as included in industry-standard Call
Center Solutions

▪ Toll free system

▪ Anti-virus system

▪ SMS server with the facility to send automated messages to customers informing them of
status of their request and relevant information regarding their complaint

▪ IVR solution and its maintenance

▪ Personal computers (including relevant licensed software) without USB and other
copying facility

▪ Headphones

▪ PRI connections

▪ Cabling – data, power and voice integration of proposed IVR solution with Invest India
CRM through a standard CTI solution as and when CRM goes live
▪ Authorized internet connections

▪ Furnished building with required floor space with workstations, cubicles, chairs provided
to suit a typical call-center set-up

▪ Lighting and air-conditioning

▪ Canteen facility

▪ Security systems – access control system, CCTV, security guards

▪ Power backup and UPS

▪ Automatic attendance monitoring mechanisms

▪ Conference rooms, meeting rooms, training rooms with projectors

▪ Basic amenities like rest room and water facilities

The contact center vendor would be held solely responsible for ensuring safety of all the center
employees. The vendor would be expected to provide facilities for transportation of employees to
and from the contact center location

5.2.1 Query Handling Team

• The inbound call volume would be around 150 inbound calls per day and this can gradually
increase
• Ensuring quick and effective resolution of all information related queries in a time effective
manner
• Responding to email queries
• Ensure to answer all calls and call back the customer in case call dropped because of heavy
call volume
• Picking trends in query and harnessing this knowledge to improve speed to response and
improving efficiency
• Developing FAQs and cheat sheets with standard responses.
• Doing outbound calls as and when required by Invest India

5.2.2 Management and Reporting Team

• Preparation of standardize responses and knowledge base for answering queries


• Prepare and regularly update documents such as FAQs/presentations/database/queries
• Identification of serious queries/good leads and apprising Invest India Start-Up Facilitation
team about the case (within 24 working hours).
• Maintaining logs of all grievances and suggestions (or any other) to help after-care and
policy advocacy functions at Invest India.
• Identifying metrics to showcase performance and effectiveness of the team to the reporting
ministry in the Government of India.
• Developing meaningful reports related to query receipt and handling.
• In addition to the above, the team is expected to deliver adhoc/bespoke requests shared by
Invest India from time-to-time
• The team must strive to continuously improve internal processes to enhance efficiency.
• The team should also support Invest India team in delivering quick turnaround and bespoke
research requested by various ministries of the Government of India/key investors.
• They should not reveal their identity to investors and must adhere to standard protocols.
Maintaining secrecy to the information received through queries is of utmost importance.
• In the initial week post contract finalization, the contact center vendor would be expected
to share the format/template, the number of reports and the frequency of reports that would
be shared with Invest India. The vendor would be expected to make any relevant changes
that Invest India might consider necessary to these formats.
• The contact center shall share daily, weekly and monthly reports with Invest India.
• The reports would be expected to detail out the trending of the KPIs identified and their
performance against set SLAs. In addition, the contact center vendor would be expected to
provide any additional reporting information requested by Invest India at no additional cost
• The contact center vendor shall offer real time tracking of the call from remote location
through desktop and mobile
• All the reports should be offered on a real time basis through contact center vendor CRM.

5.2.3 Team Structure and Resource Count


Team Structure: The team size of 7 resources will be required for this project. The project lead
of “Centralized Contact Center Operations” will be formally responsible for reporting to Start-Up
India team at Invest India. Also, the team members will liaison with Invest India resources on a
day-to-day basis.

Training: The contact centre vendor would be held responsible for the recruitment and training of
all customer call associates and timely refresher training of resources as well.

Staffing Requirements:

• Agents Seats: 7 (Billable)

• Project Lead: 1 (Non-Billable/Shared)

• Quality Control: 1 (Non-Billable/Shared)

• Subject Matter Expert: 1 (Non-Billable/Shared)

• Trainers: 1 (Non-Billable/Shared)

Ramp Up: The selected vendor should be able to immediately ramp up the number of seats, at the
pre agreed rate per seat as per the financial bid, if requirement comes from Invest India

Invest India will prefer Full Time Equivalent (FTE) as the engagement model for this team.
Considering the anticipated nature of work, Invest India will also prefer resources with specific
work experience and qualifications.

1. Project Lead: 1
a. Experience: 8-10 years of experience in managing contact centres
b. Responsibility: Act as a point of contact for Invest India team. Ensure timely delivery of
projects through work allocation, staffing/resourcing, performance management and
development, quality control.

2. Agents: 7
a. Experience: Graduate with 1-4 years Call Center Experience (customer service
background)
b. Responsibility: Provide standardized and high quality customer experience. The agents
should be well verse with English, Hindi and a Regional language to understand and
respond to queries ((each resource should be able to answer query in at least 1 regional
language). Must be Computer Literate. Should be able to handle customer queries/concern
tactfully & professionally via telephone. Should be able to adhere to escalation procedures
of handling customer complaints at all times (apart from providing them the information).
Invest India may at a ramp up stage request for agents well versed with English, Hindi and
regional language. The contact center vendor should be competent to recruit such resource.

5.2.4 Service Level Expectations

i. Call answer within 20 seconds. If a call is dropped because of heavy call volume,
ensure to call back the customer

ii. No blocking with >75% FCR (First Call Resolution Rate)


iii. Call abandonment less than 2%, average hold time – less than 20 seconds
iv. 100% call recording
v. Service level minimum 95%
vi. Delivery on net CSAT (customer satisfaction) should be >93% for every LOB (Line of
Business)
vii. 6 Hours max TAT on DSAT (dissatisfaction) issues – Review of the DSAT comments,
API (Application Program Interface) notes, analysis of information & DSAT driver,
call back to customer and initiation of ‘corrective action’ as well as resending of the
survey to solicit updated feedback, post resolution of customer concern
viii. 100% quality auditing for both inbound & outbound calls related to all LOBs.

ix. 99.8% network up time at all levels


x. Ensure complete Redundancy (Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Pan) at all
levels
xi. Total downtime reported – less than 1%

5.2.5 Tentative Key Result Areas:

i. The team must project positive and professional image of the Government of India
initiatives to query seekers.
ii. They should not reveal their identity to callers and must adhere to standard protocols.
Maintaining secrecy to the information received through queries is of utmost
importance

iii. The contact center vendor would be expected to implement a standard IVR response
for customers calling the toll-free number when the centre is not operational. The
contact centre should have the facility to record the phone numbers of such customers
and call these customers back to record their query details the next day.

iv. Invest India is currently in the process of making specific changes to its service
delivery model. This might necessitate the need for the contact center vendor to be
flexible in its initial work scope to support the organization in its service
transformation initiative. The contact center vendor would be informed of relevant
changes as and when they are finalized

v. IVR Setup - The vendor would be expected to lend its expertise in and if required, to
take the lead, in setting up the IVR solution. The IVR solution would be expected to
play a welcome message for the customer and then transfer the call to the respective
agent basis the customer’s choice of language and type of call. The contact center
vendor would be expected to recommend the appropriate course of action in setting
up the IVR solution. The vendor would also be expected to work closely with the
Invest India team to select the best possible option for IVR setup, shortlist the
telecom operators to provide the service, assist in evaluating them and rolling out the
final IVR solution

vi. The team should ensure quick and effective resolution of all information related
queries within the prescribed time limit.

vii. The team has to provide business intelligence tools (BI) and Analytical Tools for all
reports

viii. Provide E-mail and SMS features, which will be inbuilt to the CRM provided to
Invest India.

ix. The team must on an ongoing basis enhance their knowledge to better address
queries.

x. The team must strive to continuously improvement internal processes to enhance


efficiency.

xi. The team must conduct regular knowledge sharing sessions internally to ensure
regular performance improvement.
5.4 Disaster Recovery
The contact center vendor would be expected to implement disaster recovery measures and ensure
minimal loss of data and disruption of services in case of an unforeseen event occurrence. Ideally,
this should involve data collection and maintenance at a location other than the base/primary
location and readiness to start operations at short notice at any location other than the base location

5. 5 Payment Terms
The payment would be as per the Financial Bid amount quoted in Form Fin 2.
The payment would be made Monthly by the end of every month, to the selected vendor.

Note: The Monitoring Committee will conduct a periodic review of the project activities and
deliverables to gauge output and to approve activities for the forthcoming period.
a) The selected bidder has to give a Bank Guarantee for an amount equal to 10% of Financial Bid
amount, Form Fin 2.The initial Bank Guarantee may be discharged at the final payment stage.
SECTION 6: STANDARD FORM OF CONTRACT

DISCLAIMER:
Kindly note this model contract is purely for reference purposes and any changes to same shall be made
solely at the discretion of Invest India.

No contractual liability/obligations are created from this model contract.


Draft

CONTRACT FOR SERVICES

Between

Invest India,

Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India and acts as
the first point of reference for investors in India.

And

[Name of the Agency]

Dated: ______________

For

Centralized Contact Center Operations

(On Non-judicial Stamp Paper)


6.1 Form of Contract

This Contract is made at __________ (place) on the _____________ day of the month and year)
between Invest India, New Delhi - (hereinafter called Invest India of the First Party AND
_____________, having its office ______________ (hereinafter called “Agency”) of the Second
Party

WHEREAS

(a) The Agency, having represented to Invest India that it has the required professional skills,
personnel and technical resources, has offered to carry out the services in response to the Tender
Notice called ‘Request for Proposal’ dated_________ issued by Invest India;

(b) Invest India has accepted the Proposal dated ______________ submitted by the Agency to
provide the services on the terms and conditions set forth in this Contract.

NOW, THEREFORE IN CONSIDERATION OF THE MUTUAL CONVENANTS


HEREIN CONTAINED, IT IS HEREBY AGREED between the Parties as follows:

1. The following Contract documents shall be deemed to form an integral part of this Contract:

a. Invest India General Conditions of Contract;

b. The Special Conditions of Contract;

c. The following Appendices:

i. Description of Services/ Scope of Work

ii. Reporting Requirements

iii. Total cost of Services

iv. Duties of Invest India

v. Format for Performance Bank Guarantee

d. Agency Proposal dated __________read with agreed Minutes dated _______

e. Letter of Award dated ____________ issued by Invest India

2. The mutual rights and obligations of Invest India and the Agency shall be as set forth in the
Contract, in particular:
a. The SCOPE OF WORK will be as per Terms of Reference of Section 5.

b. The activities and the deliverables against each activity would be as per Section 5

c. The Agency shall carry out and complete the Services within the time frame indicated in
RFP in accordance with the provisions of the Contract;

d. The consideration or Contract Price shall be Rs. ___________ inclusive of all taxes.

e. Invest India shall make payments to the Agency in accordance with the provisions of the
Contract.

f. Detailed terms and conditions of the Contract are contained in the Contract Documents
mentioned in Para 1 above. The same are to be read harmoniously

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have caused this Contract to be signed in their
respective names as on the day and year mentioned above.

Signed by __________________
In presence of
1. For and on behalf of [Invest India]
(i)
[Authorized Representative]
(ii)
2. for and on behalf of [name of Agency]
In presence of (Witnesses)
(i)
(ii)
[Authorized Representative]
6.2 General Conditions of Contract

6.2.1 General Provisions


6.2.1.1 Definitions: Unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms whenever used in
this Contract have the following meanings:

i. Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India and
acts as the first point of reference for investors in India.

ii. “Applicable Law” means the laws and any other instruments having the force of law in
India.

iii. “Client” means Invest India with which the selected Agency signs the contract for the
services.

iv. “Monitoring Committee” (MC) means a Committee constituted to monitor the progress of
the assignment which may make judgment giving reasons thereafter as to which shall be
recorded in writing.

v. “Agency” means any entity that may provide or provides the Services to Invest India
under the Contract.

vi. “Contract” means the Contract signed by the Parties and all the Contract documents listed
in its Clause 1 of the Contract.

vii. Data Sheet” means such part of the Instructions to bidders used to reflect assignment
conditions.

viii. “Day” means calendar day.

ix. “Effective Date” means the date on which this Contract comes into force.

x. “GCC” means these General Conditions of Contract.

xi. “Government” means the Government of India

xii. “Indian Currency” means Indian Rupees (INR).

xiii. “Instructions to Companies” (Section 2 of the RFP) means the document which provides
Companies with all information needed to prepare their Proposals.
xiv. “In writing” means communicated in written form with proof of receipt.

xv. “Liquidated Damages” herein- may be specified as “LD”.

xvi. “Local Currency” means Indian Rupees (INR).

xvii. “LOI” (Section 1 of the RFP) means the Letter of Invitation being sent by Invest India to
the shortlisted Companies.

xviii. “LOA” means the Letter of Award issued by Invest India conveying its acceptance of the
proposal of the successful Agency.

xix. “Party” means Invest India or the Agency, as the case may be, and “Parties” means both
of them.

xx. “Personnel” means professionals and support staff provided by the Companies and
assigned to perform the services or any part thereof; “Foreign Personnel” means such
professionals and support staff who at the time of being so provided had their domicile
outside the country; “Local Personnel” means such professionals and support staff who at
the time of being so provided have their domicile inside the country;

xxi. “Proposal” includes both the Technical Proposal and the Financial Proposal.

xxii. “RFP” means the Request for Proposal prepared by Invest India for the selection of
Companies.

xxiii. “Services” means the work to be performed by the Agency pursuant to the Contract.

xxiv. “Third Party” means any person or entity other than Invest India, or the Agency.

6.2.1.2 Relationship between the Parties: Nothing contained herein shall be construed as
establishing a relationship of master and servant or of principal and agent as between Invest India
and the Agency. The Agency, subject to this Contract, has complete charge of Personnel,
performing the Services and shall be fully responsible for the Services performed by them on his
behalf including salary to its employees.
6.2.1.3 Law Governing Contract: This Contract, its meaning and interpretation, and the relation
between the Parties shall be governed by the applicable laws of India.

6.2.1.4 Headings: The headings shall not limit, alter or affect the meaning of this Contract.
6.2.1.5 Notices:

6.2.1.5.1 Any notice, request or consent required or permitted to be given or made pursuant to this
Contract shall be in writing. Any such notice, request or consent shall be deemed to have been
given or made when delivered against acknowledgement to an authorized representative of the
Party to whom the communication is addressed, or when sent by registered post/courier to the
addresses specified below.

Agency: ____________________________________________________

Attention: ___________________________________________________

Address with Communication details: _____________________________

6.2.1.5.2 A Party may change its address for notice hereunder by giving the other Party notice in
writing of such change to the address specified below.

Agency: ____________________________________________________

Attention: ___________________________________________________

Address with Communication details: _____________________________

6.2.1.6 Location: The Services shall be performed at such locations as indicated in the TOR/LOA
and, where the location of a particular task is not so specified, at such locations, as Invest India
may notify in writing.

6.2.1.7 Authorized Representatives: Any action required or permitted to be taken, and any
document required or permitted to be executed under this Contract or any amendment thereof by
Invest India or the Agency may be taken or executed by the officials specified below.

Agency: ____________________________________________________

Attention: ___________________________________________________

Address with Communication details: _____________________________

The Agency shall issue Power of Attorney in favor of its Authorized Representative.
6.2.1.8 Taxes and Duties: The Agency shall be liable to pay all direct and indirect taxes, duties,
fees and other impositions levied under the laws of India, applicable at the time of submission of
the Proposal.

6.2.1.9 Fraud and Corruption

6.2.1.9.1 Definitions: It is Invest India’s policy to require that Invest India as well as Companies
observe the highest standard of ethics during the execution of the Contract. In pursuance of this
policy, Invest India defines, for the purpose of this provision, the terms set forth as follows:

i. “corrupt practice” means the offering, receiving, or soliciting, directly or indirectly, of


anything of value (whether in cash or kind) to influence the action of a public official in
the selection process or in Contract execution;

ii. “fraudulent practice” means a misrepresentation or omission of facts in order to influence


a selection process or the execution of a Contract;

iii. “collusive practices” means a scheme or arrangement between two or more Companies,
with or without the knowledge of Invest India, designed to establish prices at artificial,
noncompetitive levels;

iv. “coercive practices” means harming or threatening to harm, directly or indirectly, persons
or their property to influence their participation in a procurement process, or affect the
execution of a Contract.

6.2.1.9.2 Measures to be taken by Invest India

i. Invest India may terminate the Contract if it comes to know at any point of time that
representatives of the Agency were engaged in corrupt, fraudulent, collusive or coercive
practices during the selection process or the execution of the Contract, without the Agency
having taken timely and appropriate action satisfactory to Invest India to remedy the
situation after receipt of Notice.

ii. Invest India after issue of Show Cause Notice to Agency may also sanction against the
Agency, declaring the Agency ineligible, either indefinitely or for a stipulated period of
time, to be awarded a Contract, if it at any point of time comes to know that the Agency
has, directly or through an agent, engaged in corrupt, fraudulent, collusive or coercive
practices in competing for, or in executing, any Invest India -financed Contract.
6.2.2 Commencement, Completion, Modification and Termination of Contract

6.2.2.1 Effectiveness of Contract: This Contract shall come into force and effect on the date of
acceptance of LOA or signing of the Contract or any future date as specifically stated in the
Contract.

6.2.2.2 Unless otherwise terminated under the provisions of any other relevant clauses, this
contract shall be deemed to have been completed on completion of the scope of work, deliverables
and submission of all the reports and release of final payments.

6.2.2.3 Entire Agreement: This Contract contains all covenants, stipulations and provisions agreed
by the Parties. No agent or representative of either Party has authority to make, and the Parties
shall not be bound by or be liable for, any other statement, representation, promise or agreement
not set forth herein.

6.2.2.4 Modifications or Variations:

(a) Any modification or variation of the terms and conditions of this Contract, including any
modification or variation of the scope of the Services, may only be made by written agreement
between the Parties. However, each Party shall give due consideration to any proposals for
modification or variation made by the other Party and cost implication thereof.

(b) In cases of substantial modifications or variations, a supplementary Agreement between Invest


India and Agency is required.

6.2.2.5 Force Majeure

6.2.2.5.1 Definition:

(a) For the purposes of this Contract, “Force Majeure” means an event which is beyond the
reasonable control of a Party, is not foreseeable, is unavoidable and not brought about by or at the
instance of the Party claiming to be affected by such events and which has caused the non-
performance or delay in performance, and which makes a Party’s performance of its obligations
hereunder impossible or so impractical as reasonably to be considered impossible in the
circumstances, and includes, but is not limited to, war, riots, civil disorder, earthquake, fire,
explosion, storm, flood or other extreme adverse weather conditions, strikes, lockouts or other
industrial action (except where such strikes, lockouts or other industrial action are within the power
of the Party invoking Force Majeure to prevent), confiscation or any other action by Government
Companies.

(b) Force Majeure shall not include (i) any event which is caused by the negligence or intentional
action of a Party or by or of such Party’s agents or employees, nor (ii) any event which a diligent
Party could reasonably have been expected both to take into account at the time of the signing of
the Contract, and avoid or overcome with utmost persistent effort in the carrying out of its
obligations hereunder.

(c) Force Majeure shall not include insufficiency of funds or manpower or inability to make any
payment required for execution of services under this Contract.

6.2.2.5.2 No Breach of Contract: The failure of a Party to fulfill any of its obligations hereunder
shall not be considered to be a breach of, or default under, this Contract insofar as such inability
arises from an event of Force Majeure, provided that the Party affected by such an event has taken
all possible precautions, due care and all Measures, with the objective of carrying out the terms
and conditions of this Contract.

6.2.2.5.3 Measures to be taken:

(a) A Party affected by an event of Force Majeure shall continue to perform its obligations under
the Contract as far as is reasonably practical, and shall take all reasonable measures to minimize
the consequences of any event of Force Majeure.

(b) A Party affected by an event of Force Majeure shall notify the other Party of such event as soon
as possible, and in any case not later than fourteen (14) days following the occurrence of such
event, providing sufficient and satisfactory evidence of the nature and cause of such event, and
shall similarly give written notice of the restoration of normal conditions as soon as possible.

(c) Any period within which a Party shall, pursuant to this Contract, complete any action or task,
shall be extended for a period equal to the time during which such Party was unable to perform
such action as a result of Force Majeure.

(d) During the period of their inability to perform the Services as a result of an event of Force
Majeure, the Agency, upon instructions by Invest India, shall either: (i) Demobilize or (ii)
continue with the Services to the extent possible, in which case Invest India on being satisfied
shall continue to pay proportionately to the Agency and on pro-rata basis, under the terms of this
Contract.

(e) In the case of disagreement between the Parties as to the existence or extent of Force Majeure,
the matter shall be settled according to Clause 6.2.9 hereunder.

6.2.2.6 Suspension: Invest India may, by written notice of suspension to the Agency, suspend all
payments to the Agency hereunder if the Agency fails to perform any of its obligations under this
Contract, including the carrying out of the Services, provided that such notice of suspension (i)
shall specify the nature of the failure, and (ii) shall allow the Agency to remedy such failure, if
capable of being remedied, within a period not exceeding thirty (30) days after receipt by the
Agency of such notice of suspension.

6.2.2.7 Termination:

6.2.2.7.1 By Invest India: Invest India may terminate this Contract in case of the occurrence of
any of the events specified in paragraphs (a) through (h) of this Clause.

(a) If the Agency fails to remedy a failure in the performance of its obligations hereunder, as
specified in a notice of issued by Invest India, within thirty (30) days of receipt of such notice or
within such further period as Invest India may have subsequently approved in writing.

(b) If the Agency becomes insolvent or goes into compulsory liquidation.

(c) If the Agency, in the judgment of Invest India, has engaged in corrupt or fraudulent practices
in competing for or in executing this Contract.

(d) If the Agency submits to Invest India a false statement which has a material effect on the
rights, obligations or interests of Invest India.

(e) If the Agency places itself in position of conflict of interest or fails to disclose promptly any
conflict of interest to Invest India.

(f) If the Agency fails to provide the quality services as envisaged under this Contract. The
Monitoring Committee (CMC) formulated to monitor the progress of the assignment may make
judgment regarding the poor quality of services, the reasons for which shall be recorded in writing.
The CMC may decide to give one chance to the Agency to improve the quality of the services.
(g) If, as the result of Force Majeure, the Agency is unable to perform a material portion of the
Services for a period of not less than sixty (60) days.

(h) If Invest India, in its sole discretion and for any reason whatsoever, decides to terminate this
Contract.

In such an occurrence Invest India shall give a not less than thirty (30) days’ written advance
notice before terminating the Contract of Companies, and sixty (60) days’ in case of the event
referred to in (h) and 100 (hundred) days in case it does not pay the Award amount as per Award
against it passed by arbitration.

6.2.2.7.2 By the Agency: The Agency may terminate this Contract, by not less than thirty (30) days’
written notice to Invest India, in case of the occurrence of any of the events specified in paragraphs
(a) and (b) of this Clause 6.2.2.7.2.

(a) If Invest India fails to pay any money due to the Agency pursuant to this Contract and not
subject to dispute pursuant to Clause 6.2.9 hereof within forty-five (45) days after receiving written
notice from the Agency that such payment is overdue.

(b) If, as the result of Force Majeure, the Agency is unable to perform a material portion of the
Services for a period of not less than sixty (60) days.

(c) If Invest India fails to comply with any final decision reached as a result of Arbitration
pursuant to Clause 8 hereof.

(d) If Invest India is in material breach of its obligations pursuant to this Contract and has not
remedied the same within forty-five (45) days (or such longer period as the Agency may have
subsequently approved in writing) following the receipt by Invest India of the Agency’s notice
specifying such breach.

6.2.2.7.3 Cessation of Rights and Obligations: Upon termination of this Contract pursuant to
Clauses 6.2.2.7 hereof, or upon expiration of this Contract, all rights and obligations of the Parties
hereunder shall cease, except (i) such rights and obligations as may have accrued on the date of
termination or expiration, (ii) the obligation of confidentiality set forth in Clause 6.2.3.3 hereof,
(iii) the Agency’s obligation to pay Damages or Liquidated Damages permit inspection, copying
and auditing of their accounts and records as set forth in Clause 6.2.3.5 hereof, and (iv) any right
which a Party may have under the Law.
6.2.2.7.4 Cessation of Services: Upon termination of this Contract by notice of either Party to the
other pursuant to Clauses 6.2.2.7.1 or 6.2.2.7.2 hereof, the Agency shall, immediately upon
dispatch or receipt of such notice, take all necessary steps to bring the Services to a close and
vacate the premises of Invest India in a prompt and orderly manner. With respect to documents
prepared by the Agency and equipment and materials furnished by Invest India, the Agency shall
proceed as provided, respectively.

6.2.2.7.5 Payment upon Termination: Upon termination of this Contract pursuant to Clauses
6.2.2.7.1 or 6.2.2.7.2 hereof, Invest India shall make the following payments to the Agency:

(a) If the agreement is terminated pursuant of Clause 6.2.2.7.1 (a) to (f), the Agency shall not be
entitled to receive any agreed payments upon termination of the Contract. However, Invest India
may consider making payment for the part satisfactorily performed on the basis of Quantum Merit
as assessed by it, if such part is of economic utility to Invest India. Under such circumstances,
upon termination, Invest India may also impose liquidated damages as per the provisions of
Clause 9 hereof. The Agency will be required to pay any such liquidated damages and
compensation as permissible under Contract Act to Invest India within Thirty (30) days of
termination date.

(b) In the event of termination under 6.2.2.7.1 (g & h), the payment schedule as specified in this
contract shall not apply and the costs of work delivered by Agency and the cost of demobilization
of Agency teams will be mutually decided and paid by Invest India to Agency.

6.2.2.7.6 Disputes about Events of Termination: If either Party disputes whether an event specified
in paragraphs (a) through (h) of Clause 6.2.2.7.1 or in Clause 6.2.2.7.2 hereof has occurred, such
Party may, if it chosen within forty-five (45) days after receipt of notice of termination from the
other Party, may seek settlement under Clause 6.2.9 hereof.

6.2.3 Obligations of the Agency

6.2.3.1 Standard of Performance: The Agency shall perform the Services and carry out their
obligations hereunder with all due diligence, efficiency and economy, in accordance with generally
accepted professional standards and practices, and shall observe sound management practices, and
employ appropriate technology and safe and effective equipment, machinery, materials and
methods. The Agency shall always act, in respect of any matter relating to this Contract or to the
Services, as faithful adviser to Invest India, and shall at all times support and safeguard Invest
India’s legitimate interests in its dealings.

6.2.3.2 Conflict of Interests: The Agency shall hold Invest India’s interest paramount, without
any consideration for future work, and strictly avoid conflict of interest with other assignments or
their own corporate interests. If during the period of this Contract, a conflict of interest arises for
any reasons, the Agency shall promptly disclose the same to Invest India and seek its instructions
for compliance.

6.2.3.2.1 Prohibition of Conflicting Activities: The Agency shall not engage, and shall cause their
Personnel not to engage, either directly or indirectly, in any business or professional activities that
would conflict with the activities assigned to them under this Contract.

6.2.3.3 Confidentiality: Except with the prior written consent of Invest India, the Agency and the
Personnel shall not at any time communicate to any person or entity any confidential information
acquired in the course of the Services, nor shall the Agency and its Personnel make public the
recommendations formulated in the course of, award of Contract and its execution.

6.2.3.4 Statutory requirements by the Agency: The Agency is liable to extend the benefits as
provided under the various statutory and labor laws and other relevant applicable laws.

6.2.3.5 Agency’s actions requiring Invest India’s prior approval: The Agency shall obtain Invest
India’s prior approval in writing before making any change or addition to the Personnel listed in
Appendix C.

6.2.3.6 Reporting Obligations: The Agency shall submit to Invest India the reports and
documents (agreed to be submitted between Invest India and Agency) hereto, in the form, in the
numbers and within the time periods mutually agreed.

6.2.3.7 Publications, Reports and Documents Prepared by the Agency to be the Property of
Invest India: All publications and reports, database and other documents prepared by the Agency
for Invest India under this Contract shall become and remain the property of Invest India, and
the Agency shall, not later than upon termination or expiration of this Contract, deliver all such
reports and documents to Invest India, together with a detailed inventory thereof. The Agency
may retain a copy of such reports and documents, but shall not use anywhere, without taking
permission, in writing, from Invest India and Invest India reserves right to grant or deny any
such request. If license agreements are necessary or appropriate between the Agency and third
Parties for purposes of development of any such reports, the Agency shall obtain Invest India’s
prior written approval to such agreements, and Invest India shall be entitled at its discretion to
require recovering the expenses related to the development of the report(s) concerned.

6.2.4 Companies’ Personnel

The Agency shall employ and provide at its own cost such qualified and experienced Personnel as
are required to carry out the Services. Their salaries, claims, insurance, damages, compensation,
travel etc. will be the liability of the Agency and Invest India will in no way be responsible for
any such claims/ damages.

6.2.5 Obligations of Invest India

6.2.5.1 Assistance and Exemptions: Unless otherwise specified, Invest India shall use its best
efforts to ensure that it shall:

(a) Provide to the Agency and Personnel any such other assistance to facilitate performance of the
Contract.

6.2.5.2 Change in the Applicable Law Related to Taxes and Duties: If, after the date of this
Contract, there is any change of rate of levy under the existing applicable Laws of India with
respect to taxes and duties, which are directly payable by the Agency for providing the services
i.e. service tax or any such other applicable tax from time to time, which increase or decreases the
cost incurred by the Agency in performing the Services, then the remuneration and reimbursable
expense otherwise payable to the Agency under this Contract shall be increased or decreased
accordingly by correspondence between the Parties hereto, and corresponding adjustments shall
be made to the ceiling amounts specified in Clause 6.2.6.1. However, in case of any new or fresh
tax or levy imposed after submission of the Proposal the Agency shall be entitled to reimbursement
on submission of proof of payment of such Tax or Levy.

6.2.5.3 Payment: In consideration of the Services performed by the Agency under this Contract,
Invest India shall make to the Agency such payments and in such manner as is provided by Clause
6 of this Contract.
6.2.5.4 The other duties of Invest India, if any, shall be as mutually agreed between Invest India
and the Agency

6.2.6 Payments to the Agency

6.2.6.1 Total Cost of the Services:

(a) The total cost of the Services payable as per the Agency’s proposal to Invest India shall be
(INR) ____________________.

(b) The prices stated in the Contract shall be deemed to include all amounts payable for the use of
patents, copyrights, registered charges, trademarks and payments for any other industrial property
rights.

(c) Except as may be otherwise agreed under Clause 6.2.2.4 and subject to Clause 6.2.6.1(c),
payments under this Contract shall not exceed the amount specified in the contract.

(d) Notwithstanding Clause 6.2.6.1(b) hereof, if pursuant to Clause 6.2.5.2 hereof, the Parties shall
agree that additional payments shall be made to the Agency in order to cover any necessary
additional expenditures not envisaged in the cost estimates referred to in Clause 6.2.6.1(a) above,
the ceiling or ceilings, as the case may be, set forth in Clause 6.2.6.1(b) above shall be increased
by the amount or amounts, as the case may be, of any such additional payments.

6.2.6.2 Currency of Payment: All payments shall be made in Indian Rupees.

6.2.6.3 Terms of Payment: The payments in respect of the Services shall be made as follows
(Please refer to the detailed Terms of Payment at the end of this Section):

(a) The Agency shall submit the invoice for payment when the payment is due as per the agreed
terms. The payment shall be released as per the work-related milestones achieved.

(b) Once a milestone is completed, the Agency shall submit the requisite deliverables as specified
in this Contract and such invoice (in triplicate) which falls due as per schedule of payment. Invest
India shall release the requisite payment upon acceptance of the deliverables. However, if Invest
India fails to intimate acceptance of the deliverables or its objections thereto, within Thirty (30)
days of receipt of it, Invest India shall release the payment to the Agency without further delay.

(c) Final Payment: The final payment shall be made only after the final deliverable and a final
statement, identified as deliverable, shall have been submitted by the Agency and approved as
satisfactory by Invest India. The Services shall be deemed completed and finally accepted by
Invest India and the final deliverable and final statement shall be deemed approved by Invest
India as satisfactory after ninety (90) calendar days after receipt of the final deliverable and final
statement by Invest India, if within such ninety (90) day period, Invest India does not give written
notice to the Agency specifying in detail deficiencies in the Services specified, the final deliverable
or final statement. The Agency shall thereupon promptly make all necessary corrections, and
thereafter the foregoing process shall be repeated. Any extra amount, which Invest India has paid
or caused to be paid in accordance with this Clause in excess of the amounts actually payable in
accordance with the provisions of this Contract, shall be reimbursed by the Agency to Invest India
within thirty (30) days after receipt by the Agency of notice thereof. Any such claim by Invest
India for reimbursement must be made within two (2) calendar months after receipt by Agency of
a final deliverable and a final statement approved by Invest India in accordance with the above.

(d) For the purpose of payment under Clause 6.2.6.3 (b) above, acceptance means; acceptance of
the deliverables by Invest India after submission by the Agency and the Agency has made
presentation to Invest India (Mention this if presentation is required) with / without modifications
to be communicated in writing by Invest India to the Agency.

(e) If the deliverables submitted by the Agency are not acceptable to Invest India, reasons for
such non-acceptance should be recorded in writing; Invest India shall not release the payment due
to the Agency. This is without prejudice Invest India’s right to levy any liquidated damages under
clause 6.2.10. In such case, the payment will be released to the Agency only after it re-submits the
deliverable and which is accepted by Invest India.

(f) All payments under this Contract shall be made to the bank account of the Agency. Payment
may be made using RTGS/ECS. Hence, Agency should provide all details in this regard.

(g) With the exception of the final payment under (c) above, payments made to Agency do not
constitute acceptance of the Services nor relieve the Agency of any obligations hereunder, unless
the acceptance has been communicated by Invest India to the Agency in writing and the Agency
has made necessary changes as per the comments / suggestions of Invest India communicated to
the Agency.

(h) In case of earlier termination of the Contract, the payment shall be made to the Agency as
mentioned here with: (i) Assessment should be made about work done from the previous
milestone, for which the payment is made or to be made till the date of the termination. The Agency
shall provide the details of persons reasonably worked during this period with supporting
documents. Invest India shall be entitled to adjust/ recover Damages/ Compensation and
Liquidated Damages due under the Contract.

6.2.7 Deductions

All payments to the Agency shall be subject to the deductions of tax at source under the relevant
provisions of the Income Tax Act, and other taxes and deductions as provided for under any law,
rule or regulation. All costs, damages or expenses which Invest India may have paid or incurred,
for which under the provisions of the Contract, the bidder is liable, the same shall be deducted by
Invest India from any dues to the Agency.

6.2.8 Fairness and Good Faith

6.2.8.1 Good Faith: The Parties undertake to act in good faith with respect to each other’s rights
under this Contract and to adopt all reasonable measures to ensure the realization of the objectives
of this Contract.

6.2.8.2 Operation of the Contract: The Parties recognize that it is impractical in this Contract to
provide for every contingency which may arise during the life of the Contract, and the Parties
hereby agree that it is their intention that this Contract shall operate fairly as between them, and
without detriment to the interest of either of them, and that, if during the term of this Contract
either Party believes that this Contract is operating unfairly, the Parties will make their best efforts
to agree on such action as may be necessary to remove the cause or causes of such non-fairness,
but no failure to agree on any action pursuant to this Clause may give rise to a dispute subject to
Arbitration in accordance with Clause 6.2.9 hereof.

6.2.9 Settlement of Disputes

6.2.9.1 Amicable Settlement: Performance of the Contract is governed by the terms & conditions
of the Contract. In case of any dispute arising between the Parties regarding any matter under the
prevailing contract, either Party of the Contract may send a written Notice of Dispute to the other
Party. The Party receiving the Notice of Dispute will consider the Notice and respond to it in
writing within Thirty (30) days after receipt. If that Party fails to respond within Thirty (30) days,
or the dispute cannot be amicably settled within Sixty (60) days following the response of that
Party, clause 6.2.9.2 shall become applicable.

6.2.9.2 Arbitration: In the case of dispute arising upon or in relation to or in connection with the
Contract between Invest India and the Agency, which has not been settled amicably under the
provisions of the above clause 6.2.9.1, any Party can refer the dispute for Arbitration under (Indian)
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Such disputes shall be referred to an Arbitral Tribunal
consisting of 3 (three) arbitrators, one each to be appointed by Invest India and the Agency, the
third arbitrator shall be chosen by the two arbitrators so appointed by the Parties which shall act
as Presiding Arbitrator. In case of failure of the two arbitrators, appointed by the Parties to reach
a consensus regarding the appointment of the third arbitrator within a period of Thirty (30) days
from the date of appointment of the two arbitrators, the Presiding arbitrator shall be appointed by
either Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and
Industries or Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA). The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and
any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof, shall apply to these Arbitration proceedings.

6.2.9.3 Arbitration proceedings shall be held in India at New Delhi and the language of the
Arbitration proceedings and that of all documents and communications between the Parties shall
be English.

6.2.9.4 The decision of the majority of arbitrators shall be final and binding upon both Parties. The
expenses of the arbitrators as determined by the arbitrators shall be shared equally by Invest India
and the Agency. All Arbitration awards shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for the award.

6.2.9.5 Notwithstanding any references to arbitration, the parties shall continue to perform their
respective work/ obligation under the Contract.

6.2.9.6 All incidental expenditures incurred in relation thereto in preparation, presentation of


documents related to the dispute in connection shall be independently borne by the respective
parties.

6.2.10 Jurisdiction

6.2.10.1 This agreement/ contract shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws in
force in India, the courts in Delhi being the court of competent jurisdiction.
6.2.11 Liquidated Damages

6.2.11.1 The Parties hereby agree that due to negligence of act of any Party, if the other Party
suffers losses, damages the quantification of which may be difficult, and hence the amount
specified hereunder shall be construed as reasonable estimate of the damages and the Parties agree
to pay such liquidated damages, as defined hereunder as per the provisions of this Contract.

6.2.11.2 The amount of liquidated damages for delay by Agency under this Contract shall not
exceed 10 % (Ten Percent) of the total value of the Contract.

6.2.11.3 The liquidated damages for delay by Agency shall be applicable under following
circumstances:

(a). If the deliverables are not submitted as per schedule, the Agency shall be liable to pay 1%
(One Percent) of the proportional cost of the services related to that deliverable for delay of each
week or part thereof.

(b). If the deliverables are not acceptable to Invest India as mentioned in Clause 6.2.6.3 (e), and
defects are not rectified to the satisfaction of Invest India within 30 (Thirty) days of the receipt of
the notice, the Agency shall be liable for Liquidated Damages for an amount equal to 1% (One
Percent) of proportional cost of the services related to that deliverable for every week or part
thereof for the delay.

(c). Notwithstanding anything mentioned above, the Agency shall not be made liable for any delay
due to non-availability of timely approval, timely review and timely escalation by Invest India or
its state level counterparts or any stake holders not directly attributable to the Agency.

6.2.11.4 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this agreement but subject to the
indemnifications specifically agreed to by the Agency herein, in no event shall the aggregate
liability of the Agency under this agreement exceed the total cost of services paid to the Agency.

6.2.12 Performance security

6.2.12.1 For the due performance of the program/ project in accordance with the terms and
conditions specified in the Letter of Award (LOA) the Agency shall on the day or before signing
the Contract which shall not be later than 30 (thirty) days of the issue of the Letter of Award,
furnish to Invest India a performance security in the form of an irrevocable and unconditional
Bank Guarantee for an amount equal to 10% (Ten Percent) of cost for application design,
development and implementation of the project which (Part A of the financial bid). This
performance guarantee will be released upon fulfillment of all responsibilities for completion of
application design, development and implementation and on submission of a fresh bank guarantee
for an amount equal to 10% (Ten Percent) of the cost of Maintenance of the system (Part B of the
financial bid). This fresh bank guarantee may be discharged after successful completion of the
whole Project.

6.2.12.2 The Bank Guarantee shall be in favour of Invest India, issued by the State Bank of India
or any Nationalized or scheduled Indian Bank, approved by the Reserve Bank of India and
acceptable to Invest India. The Bank Guarantee shall be in the Proforma acceptable to Invest
India.

6.2.12.3 It is expressly understood and agreed that the performance security is intended to secure
the performance of entire Contract. It is also expressly understood and agreed that the performance
security is not to be construed to cover all the damages detailed / stipulated in various clauses in
the Contract document.

6.2.12.4 The performance Bank Guarantee shall be initially valid for six months after the scheduled
completion date. It will be discharged by Invest India and returned to the Companies not later
than 3 (three) months following the date of completion of the Agency’s obligations, under the
Contract.

6.2.12.5 Should the program/ project period, for whatever reason be extended, the Agency, shall
at his own cost, get the validity period of Bank Guarantee in respect of performance security
furnished by him extended and shall furnish the extended / revised Bank Guarantee to Invest India
before the expiry date of the Bank Guarantee originally furnished.

6.2.13 Confidentiality

6.2.13.1 Information relating to evaluation of Proposals and recommendations concerning awards


shall not be disclosed to the Companies who submitted the Proposals or to other persons not
officially concerned with the process. The undue use by any Agency of confidential information
related to the process may result in the rejection of its Proposal and may be subject to the provisions
of the Invest India’s antifraud and corruption policy.
6.2.14 Taxes

6.2.14.1 The Agency shall include all local taxes and duties on amounts payable by the Agency
under the Contract. All taxes including Service Tax, duties and other impositions as applicable in
India shall be included in the Financial Proposals.

6.2.14.2 The Financial Proposal should include all commercial prices inclusive of all the taxes,
duties and levies, etc. applicable at the time of submission of Proposals.

6.2.15 Contract Price


6.2.15.1 The financial bid is invited in 2 parts (PART A and PART B). The Contract Price is the
total bid value i.e. combined value of both PART A and PART B.

6.2.15.2 Contract price shall remain fixed for the entire Contract period, except changes in the Tax
Law, as covered by Clause 6.2.5.2 above.

6.2.16 Transfer of Contract

6.2.16.1 Agency shall not assign or transfer the contract or any part thereof without prior written
consent of Invest India.

6.2.16.2 Agency shall act as an independent entity fully performing responsible for all services
under the contract. It shall maintain complete control over its employees, who shall in no case,
represent Invest India or act in its name, without its prior written approval.

6.2.17 Miscellaneous provisions

i. “Nothing contained in this Contract shall be construed as establishing or creating between


the Parities, a relationship of master and servant or principal and agent.

ii. Any failure or delay on the part of any Party to exercise right or power under this Contract
shall not operate as waiver thereof.

iii. The Agency shall notify Invest India of any material change in its status as legal entity, in
particular, where such change or winding up proceeding which would impact on
performance of obligations under this Contract.
iv. The Agency shall at all times indemnify and keep indemnified Invest India against all
claims/damages etc. for any infringement of any Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) while
providing its services under the Contract.

v. The Agency shall at all times indemnify and keep indemnified Invest India against any
claims in respect of any damages or compensation payable in consequences of any accident
or injury sustained or suffered by its (the Agency’s) employees or agents or caused by any
action, omission or operation conducted by or on behalf of the Agency.

vi. The Agency shall at all times indemnify and keep indemnified Invest India against any
and all claims by Employees, Workman, Companies, suppliers, agent(s), employed
engaged or otherwise working for the Agency, in respect of their wages, salaries,
remuneration, compensation or the like.

vii. All claims regarding indemnity shall survive the termination or expiry of the Contract.

viii. It is acknowledged and agreed by all Parties that there is no representation of any type,
implied or otherwise, of any absorption, regularization, continued engagement or
concession or preference for employment of persons engaged by the Agency for any
subsequent engagement, service or employment in any capacity in any office or
establishment of the Government of India or Invest India.

6.2.18 Payment Terms


The payment would be as per the Financial Bid amount quoted in Form Fin 2.
a) Signing of Contract: 10% on signing of contract against Bank Guarantee for an amount equal
to 10% of Financial Bid amount, Form Fin 2.
b) Payment as per the Financial Bid amount will be monthly – at the end of every month, Form
Fin 2 subject to the satisfactory completion of deliverables specified in the scope of work.
c) The vendor for any additional expenses must seek prior approval from Invest India and shall
be paid on actuals on receipt of expense bills for the same.
Note: The Monitoring Committee will conduct a bi-annual review of the project activities and deliverables
to gauge output and to approve activities for the forthcoming period.
The initial Bank Guarantee may be discharged at the final payment stage.
BANK GUARANTEE NO.___________________________________
Whereas you have entered into a contract signed on certificate no. ________________
(for Contract no No___________) Dated _______(hereinafter referred to as the said
Contract with M/s _________________________, having its registered office at
__________________
(here in after referred to as the “Service provider”) for supply of items/services as per
clause __________of the said Contract to the said Service provider and whereas the
Service provider has undertaken to produce a performance bank guarantee for (10%) of
cost for application design, development and implementation of the project as referred in
clause 3.13 of the Contract which amounts to Rs.____________
to secure its obligations to the Invest India.

We the bank hereby expressly, irrevocably and unreservedly undertake and guarantee as
principal obligors on behalf of the Service provider that, in the event that the Invest India
declares to us that the items have not been supplied according to the contractual
obligations under the aforementioned Contract, we will pay you, on demand and without
demur, all and any sum up to a maximum of Rs.___________________. Your written
demand shall be conclusive evidence to us that such repayment is due under the terms of
the said Contract. We undertake to effect payment upon receipt of such written demand.

2. We shall not be discharged or released from this undertaking and guarantee by any
arrangements, variations made between you and the Service provider, indulgence to the
Service provider by you, or by any alterations in the obligations of the Service provider
or by any forbearance whether as to payment, time performance or otherwise.

3. In no case shall the amount of this guarantee be increased.

4. This guarantee shall remain valid for six months after the scheduled completion date of
project or until all the store, spares and documentation have been supplied according to
the contractual obligation under the said contract or till __________ whichever is earlier.

5. Unless a demand or claim under this guarantee is made on us in writing or on before


the aforesaid expiry date as provided in the above referred Contract or on
______________ whichever is earlier or unless this guarantee is extended by us. All your
rights under this guarantee shall be forfeited and we shall be discharged from the liabilities
hereunder.

6. This guarantee shall be a continuing guarantee and shall not be effected by and change
in the constitution of the Bank or in the constitution of
M/s_______________________________.

7. This guarantee shall be governed and construed in accordance with Indian Laws.

8. This guarantee is Non assignable and non-transferable.

9. Notwithstanding anything contained herein above:


a) Our liability under this bank guarantee shall not exceed
Rs._____________________________.

b) This bank guarantee shall be valid up to __________________.

c) We are liable to pay the guaranteed amount or any part thereof under this bank
guarantee only and only if you serve upon us a written claim of demand on or
before ____________ where after all the rights under this guarantee shall be
forfeited and we shall be released and discharged from all liabilities there whether
or not the original guarantee is returned.

End of
Document

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