GeM railway tenders

There are several ways to look for look and apply for railway tenders. One of the easy ways to look for tenders on Government e-Marketplace i.e. GeM portal. This article elaborates on how you can look for relevant railway tenders on the GeM Portal and the benefits of using GeM.

How to search for railway tenders on GeM?

You will need to register as a seller on the GeM portal before applying for any tender on the portal. Here is a step-by-step guide for you to look for a railway tender.

Step 1: Visit the GeM portal and log in with your credentials.

Step 2: Click on CPPP tenders

Step 3: A new page will appear which will enable you to search by entering tender ID, tender title, organisation name, bid closing date, etc. You can use these filters to narrow your search. You can enter the organisation’s name as Ministry of Railways and click on the ‘Search’ button.

Step 4: You can click on the relevant tender and view details.

Step 5: Read the detailed description about bidding for the tender and follow the steps.

What are the other ways to search for railway tenders?

An alternate easy way to find railway tenders is to use Tata nexarc Tenders. You can easily register and activate your subscription for Tenders. You can receive information on tenders matching your business needs regularly. Select the ones you want to participate in. Explore now.

Apart from the GeM portal and Tata nexarc, there are other ways to search for railway tenders.

• IRPES portal i.e. Indian Railways e-procurement system
• CPP portal or Central Public Procurement Portal
• You can also take a help of the bid consulting service to find relevant tenders for you.

GeM railway tenders: Before you apply

• Browse through all the relevant tenders on the GeM portal. As mentioned before, Indian Railways has 16 zonal divisions, which post their procurement requirements through tenders. Always remember that these requirements can be varied. For example, a railway division may want to renovate one of its offices and have requirements for procuring office furniture. Likewise, railways have needs for IT services, catering, technical equipment engineering services, and so on. Depending on the nature of your business, shortlist the ones that are relevant to your business.
• Once you shortlist railway tenders relevant to your business, read the tender document carefully. Understand the requirements and timelines. Analyse whether your business has the capacity and capability to fulfil the requirements.
• Read about the eligibility criteria, required documents, tender fees and so on. Make a checklist of required documents and other tasks to complete such as depositing earnest money deposit (EMD). Also, save a copy of the receipt with you. In case you do not win the contract, you may need it to get a refund of the EMD.
• For most railway tenders, filling techno-commercial offer form and financial offer form is necessary.
• Generally, Indian Railways requests to submit the receipt of deposited tender fees along with the bid document. Therefore, you will need to schedule a money deposit well in advance.
• NSIC registered businesses or registered startups are exempted from certain eligibility criteria. Check for such exemption and your eligibility for the same.
• Make a checklist of all the documents you need to submit along with your bid document. Also, note the accepted digital format such .pdf, .jpg, etc.
• Read the format of the financial offer. You will have to prepare the quote according to the given format.
• While working on the quotation, calculate carefully. Take all the costs and your business profit into account. Do not quote a price that is unsustainable for your business.
• Once you gather all the information, and documents, work on the quote, then fill out the form. Double-check for any errors and review your document before you finally submit it.

GeM Railway tenders: Required documents and other details

Although each tender floated by Indian Railways is different and may require a different set of documents, here is a list of some of the commonly required documents for applying for railway tenders on the GeM portal.

• Filled-in techno-commercial offer form and financial offer form
• Details of plant, machinery and other technical facilities such as R&D capabilities, quality assurance, testing facilities, and so on.
• Digital signature certificate class III for digitally signing the forms
• Proofs of deposited EMD and tender fee
• Copy of business PAN card
• Udyam registration certificate
• Address proof of the business
• Business turnover certified by a CA
• Scanned copy of GST returns
• Scanned copy of orders completion in the mentioned timeframe
• Detailed project plan consisting of products, materials, and work required to meet the project demand

Note: It is best to carefully read and understand the list of documents for each railway tender. The list of documents varies as per the type of goods or services to be procured.

Who is eligible to apply for GeM Railway tenders?

Anyone who is registered as a seller on the GeM portal can apply for a relevant railway tender. However, each railway tender may have different eligibility criteria. Here are some of the common criteria Indin Railways may mention in the tender:

• Turnover: Sometimes tender eligibility criteria mention that companies with a certain turnover and above are only eligible to apply. For example, the minimum turnover should be ₹20 crore. In that case, only companies having ₹20 crore and above are eligible to apply. You will need to submit the CA-certified document to as proof of the turnover. In case, you do not comply with the eligibility criteria, your bid will be rejected in the first round.
• Technical criteria: Railway tenders pertaining to technical aspects may need bidders to have certain capabilities in terms of technology, machinery, plant capacity, testing and quality capabilities and so on. Mostly, bidders need to submit proof of technical capacities and capabilities.
• Work experience: Some railway tenders are only open for companies having similar work experience. In case you have done similar work earlier, you will need to submit proof of the same.
• Exemption rules: Despite the eligibility criteria, there are a few exemption rules. For example, Indian Railways encourages DPIT registered startups to participate in tenders by exempting the criteria of similar work experience.

Note: Each tender has unique eligibility criteria. Therefore, it is best to read the eligibility criteria carefully before applying for the tender.

Concluding remarks

Like railway tenders, the GeM portal enlists a number of tenders from other government departments. As a seller, you can apply for any of the relevant tenders for your business. However, you need to be careful about the following:

• Read the eligibility criteria carefully.
• Read the list of documents required.
• Ensure you have the capability and capacity to fulfil the order timely if you win the order.
• Make sure participating in tender is sustainable for your business.