Election Commission faces cloud-service tender snag as only bidder fails requirement

The Election Commission of India's IT wing launched a limited tender for a five-year cloud-services contract, aiming to replace its long-standing arrangement with BSNL. Although three MeitY-empanelled providers entered the bid, only one met the combined technical and cost scoring, yet it failed to satisfy a mandatory requirement. The ECI said it cannot comment while the tender is still under consideration and has not yet finalized a winner.

Time pressures are mounting because one outlet BSNL agreement is set to expire, and restarting the procurement would likely take half a year, which could halt essential cloud-based election functions. Officials may have to extend the BSNL deal temporarily while seeking a compliant solution. The situation highlights a shift toward competitive procurement for sensitive government services after MeitY introduced stricter specifications.