Today, everything around us is going digital. Why should the process of tendering be left behind? The Government of India has set up an e-market for goods and services to be procured by government organisations, PSUs and various departments across all states. Eprocurement UP is a part of this initiative and is a digital platform, which is being implemented by the government of UP to streamline and manage the tendering process. By leveraging digital initiatives, eprocurement UP aims to bring in transparency, efficiency and provide an even playing field to every potential bidder interested in UP tenders.
Loopholes in Conventional Means of Procurement & Tendering
- Limited Transparency
The conventional procurement methods are largely paper-based, right from the release of a tender UP and bid submission to bid opening. This entails limited transparency for potential bidders who do not have access to all the information in a timely manner.
- Chances of Manipulation
Physical documents are at a risk of manipulation as they could be tampered with. Manual evaluation of bid submissions for a tender UP could also lead to favouritism and bias.
- Geographical Limitations
Geographical limitations are a huge factor that lead to restricted participation as deserving businesses may not get hold of bid documents on time. This also affects the government as they lose out on the best value for money offers from such companies, especially for large-scale and important projects.
- Delays
Manual handling of tender UP documents during conventional tendering often leads to delays at every step of the process, which in turn increase administrative overheads and delay the commencement of a project.
- Cost Factors
The cost of logistics of managing physical bids right from printing volumes of tender documents, their distribution, management and handling are substantial.
- No Means of an Audit Trail
Tracking and auditing every step of the procurement process in UP tenders is not always possible in conventional tendering. This makes it difficult to identify any irregularities or possibilities of corruption.
- Collusion and Bid-Rigging Possibilities
Physical interactions among all stakeholders and meetings between them may create chances of collusion and rigging during procurement of a tender UP. This can lead to unfair competition.
Reasons for Shifting Towards Eprocurement UP
The loopholes discussed above often result in a lack of transparency and accountability in the procurement process. They lead to increased costs for the government and delays in commencement of projects The shift towards eprocurement UP aims to address these issues and contribute to –
- Improved transparency
- Standardisation in Eprocurement UP
- Consistency and smooth workflows
- Better efficiency
- Wider reach
- Better economics
- Greater accountability
- Enhanced data analysis
- Minimum errors
- Faster completion of an Eprocurement UP tendering cycle
Trustworthy Sources for Eprocurement UP
The primary and the most common source for UP tenders is the official eprocurement UP portal of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. You can also search for a tender UP on reliable sources like BidAssist. These two sources provide the most up-to-date and accurate details of every recent tender UP. Be cautious of unofficial websites that may fetch incomplete, outdated and unverified information.
Registration and Login on Eprocurement UP
The potential bidder must enrol as a registered user on the eprocurement UP portal before applying for a tender UP. The documents that they need to provide at this stage are –
- Desired Login ID
- Correspondence Email
- Mobile
- Company Details
- Contact Details like the designated contact person’s Title, Name, Date of Birth, Designation and Phone.
- Enter the provided Captcha and Submit. You will soon receive your login credentials via email.
Uploading Documents in Advance on Eprocurement UP
Login to eprocurement UP using the credentials received and upload a valid Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) from a licensed Certifying Authority. A DSC is essential to sign electronic documents, authenticate your identity online and to encrypt your data for safe and secure communication. It’s also recommended that the contractor/potential bidder upload documents like certifications, purchase order details, PAN card, AADHAAR card, bank account details etc. under ‘My Documents.’ These can later be selected as per the specific tender UP requirements and attached with bid documents during bid submission. This will ease out the need for last minute upload of volumes of documents and save crucial time.
Downloading a Tender UP from the Portal
A contractor can download the tender UP schedule for free on the eprocurement UP portal. To download a tender, browse the list of active UP tenders using keywords relevant to your business, click on the tender to view tender details. Click on ‘Download Documents’ to go through the requirements carefully and submit your documents as asked in the tender UP.
Special Instructions to the Bidders for Eprocurement UP
- BOQs – While filling the Bill of Quantities for the Tender UP, the template columns must not be modified or replaced by the bidder. The only details you are allowed to add are Bidder Name and Values.
- Clarifications – Any desired clarification can be obtained through the eprocurement UP portal or via the contact details mentioned in the tender UP.
- Corrigendum – Any latest corrigendum must be taken into account before submitting a bid for a tender UP.
- Document Formats – The documents that need to be submitted as per the specific tender UP should be in PDF/XLS/RAR/DWF formats. More than one document can be clubbed together if need be.
- EMD – The bidder must arrange for the EMD as specified in the tender UP. The original should be posted, couriered or given in person to the tender inviting authority before the bid submission deadline.
- Document Size – There is no limit on the size of the file that is to be uploaded. However, bidders are recommended to scan the documents in 75-100 DPI to maintain their legibility. This will also ensure quicker upload even at lower bandwidth speeds.
- Terms and Conditions – The bidder must read the terms and conditions, accept the same and ensure that the bid is submitted before the deadline.
- Freeze Bid – It’s mandatory to click on ‘Freeze Bid’ to complete the bid submission process on the eprocurement UP portal.
- Important to Remember – A successful bid submission only means that the eprocurement UP portal has received your bid and it has been stored in the system. It doesn’t guarantee its correctness.
- Acknowledgement – Take a print of the bid summary and save it as a proof of submission for the tender UP bid. It will also act as an entry point to participate in the bid opening event.
BidAssist – Striving to Find Every Tender UP Opportunity for You!
BidAssist is a very transparent platform and despite our efforts to aggregate tender information from Eprocurement UP, it is likely that we may miss out on a few UP tenders. But if you let us know we will do everything possible to get that tender UP on our platform. Just reach out to the BidAssist customers support team and share your query!