RFP for Selection of Managed Service Partner (MSP) for

RFP for Selection of Managed Service Partner (MSP)

for

Integrated Railways Helpline & Enquiry System

(IRHES) -139

RFP for Selection of Managed Service Partner (MSP) for Integrated Railways Helpline & Enquiry System -139

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Table of Content

1 Section I: Invitation to Bidder .................................................................................................... 10

2 Section II: Instruction to Bidders ............................................................................................... 14

2.1 Nature of Project .............................................................................................................. 14

2.2 Nature of Tender .............................................................................................................. 14

2.3 Contents of the RFP ......................................................................................................... 14

2.4 Cost of Bidding Process ................................................................................................... 14

2.5 Clarification on RFP Document ......................................................................................... 15

2.6 Amendment of RFP Document ......................................................................................... 16

2.7 Language of Bids ............................................................................................................. 16

2.8 Procedure for Submission of Bids ..................................................................................... 16

2.9 Documents Comprising the Bids ....................................................................................... 18

2.10 Bid Prices ......................................................................................................................... 19

2.11 Firm Prices ....................................................................................................................... 19

2.12 Discount ........................................................................................................................... 19

2.13 Bidder Qualification .......................................................................................................... 19

2.14 Period of Validity of Bids ................................................................................................... 20

2.15 Terms and Conditions of Bidder ....................................................................................... 20

2.16 Local Conditions ............................................................................................................... 20

2.17 Last Date for Receipt of Bids ............................................................................................ 21

2.18 Modification and Withdrawal of Bids ................................................................................. 21

2.19 Contacting IRCTC ............................................................................................................ 21

2.20 Participation of Joint Venture (JV): This Clause shall be applicable for tenders wherein

tender (RFP) documents specifically permit for the same. ............................................................ 21

2.23 Criteria for Evaluation of Bids ........................................................................................... 26

2.24 Evaluation Process........................................................................................................... 26

2.25 Prequalification Evaluation Criteria ................................................................................... 29

2.26 Technical Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................................ 35

2.27 Financial Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................................. 43

2.28 Post Qualification and Award Criteria................................................................................ 44

2.29 Purchaser's Right to Accept Any Bid and to Reject Any or All Bids .................................... 44

2.30 Notification of Award ........................................................................................................ 44

2.31 Security Deposit ............................................................................................................... 44

2.32 Signing of Contract ........................................................................................................... 44

2.33 Rejection Criteria .............................................................................................................. 45

3 Section III: General Conditions of the Contract (GCC) .............................................................. 53

3.1 Definitions and Interpretations .......................................................................................... 53

3.2 Authorized Signatory and address of the contractor .......................................................... 55

3.3 Qualification Criteria of Tenderer ...................................................................................... 55

3.4 JV bidders ........................................................................................................................ 55


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3.5 Earnest Money Deposit .................................................................................................... 56

3.6 Completion of Tender Documents .................................................................................... 56

3.7 Amendments to Bid Invitation ........................................................................................... 56

3.8 Clarifications, Omissions and Discrepancies in Tender Document .................................... 56

3.9 Process to Be Confidential ............................................................................................... 57

3.10 Technical Clarifications ..................................................................................................... 57

3.11 Validity ............................................................................................................................. 57

3.12 Right of Acceptance ......................................................................................................... 57

3.13 Indemnities and Liabilities................................................................................................. 57

3.14 Insurance ......................................................................................................................... 58

3.15 Local Conditions ............................................................................................................... 58

3.16 Prices ............................................................................................................................... 58

3.17 Price Fall .......................................................................................................................... 58

3.18 Acceptance of Purchase Order ......................................................................................... 59

3.19 Delivery ............................................................................................................................ 59

3.20 Liquidated Damages for Delay in Delivery ........................................................................ 59

3.21 Information Ownership ..................................................................................................... 59

3.22 General Requirements ..................................................................................................... 59

3.23 Security Deposit (PBG) .................................................................................................... 60

3.24 Warranty .......................................................................................................................... 61

3.25 Income-Tax ...................................................................................................................... 61

3.26 Intentionally Kept Blank .................................................................................................... 61

3.27 Settlement of Disputes/Arbitration and Jurisdiction ........................................................... 61

3.28 Force Majeure .................................................................................................................. 62

3.29 Evaluation of Offers .......................................................................................................... 63

3.30 Integrity Pact .................................................................................................................... 63

3.31 Management Phase ......................................................................................................... 63

3.32 Audit, Access and Reporting ............................................................................................ 64

3.33 Assignment ...................................................................................................................... 65

3.34 Illegal Gratification ............................................................................................................ 65

4 Special Conditions of the Contract (SCC) ................................................................................. 66

4.1 General ............................................................................................................................ 66

4.2 Term and Duration of the agreement ................................................................................ 66

4.3 Payment Terms ................................................................................................................ 66

4.4 Conditions Governing the Performance of the Contract..................................................... 69

4.5 Taxes and Other Statutory Dues....................................................................................... 69

4.6 Non-Disclosure Agreement ............................................................................................... 69

4.7 Lock-In Period .................................................................................................................. 69

4.8 Termination by either Party ............................................................................................... 69

4.9 Termination of Contract .................................................................................................... 70


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4.10 Intentionally Kept Blank .................................................................................................... 71

4.11 Corrupt Practices ............................................................................................................. 71

4.12 Breach of Contract ........................................................................................................... 71

4.13 Intellectual Property .......................................................................................................... 72

4.14 Compliance of Laws ......................................................................................................... 72

4.15 Data/ Database ................................................................................................................ 72

4.16 Assignment ...................................................................................................................... 72

4.17 No Agency ....................................................................................................................... 72

4.18 Jurisdiction of Court .......................................................................................................... 72

4.19 Conflict of Interest ............................................................................................................ 73

4.20 Access to the IRCTC or Its Nominated Agencies Locations .............................................. 73

4.21 Conditions and Precedent Effective Date .......................................................................... 74

4.22 Obligations under SLA...................................................................................................... 75

SCHEDULE I: Change Control Schedule ......................................................................................... 77

SCHEDULE II: Exit Management Schedule ..................................................................................... 80

SCHEDULE: III Audit, Access and Reporting ................................................................................... 84

SCHEDULE: IV Governance Schedule ............................................................................................ 87

SCHEDULE-V: Service Level Agreement ....................................................................................... 89

5 Section IV: Bid Submission Formats and Service Level Agreement (SLA) .............................. 100

5.1 Bidder’s Self Information ................................................................................................ 100

5.2 Prime/Lead Bidder and Joint Venture (JV) detail ............................................................. 101

5.3 Undertaking that Bidder is not Blacklisted/Insolvency ...................................................... 105

5.4 Response to Eligibility and Evaluation Criteria (Refer Clause 2.25 & 2.26 of Section-II-

Instructions to Bidders) .............................................................................................................. 106

5.5 Project Details ................................................................................................................ 107

5.6 Manpower Details........................................................................................................... 108

5.7 CV Format...................................................................................................................... 109

5.8 Technical Bid Submission Letter ..................................................................................... 111

5.9 Manufacturer’s Authorization Form ................................................................................. 115

5.10 Overview of Proposed Solution ....................................................................................... 117

5.11 Intentionally Kept Blank .................................................................................................. 119

5.12 Performa for EMD .......................................................................................................... 119

5.14 Pre-Bid Query Format .................................................................................................... 123

5.15 Proforma for Statement of Deviations from Tender Conditions ........................................ 124

5.16 Intentionally Kept Blank .................................................................................................. 125

5.17 Pre-Contract Integrity Pact ............................................................................................. 125

5.18 Performa of Security Deposit .......................................................................................... 130

5.19 Financial Bid Letter (Packet-B of Bid) ............................................................................. 132

5.20 Security Requirements ................................................................................................... 133

5.21 Financial Information of the Bidder ................................................................................. 151


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6 Section V: Scope of Work ...................................................................................................... 154

6.14 About the Document ....................................................................................................... 154

6.15 Project Background ........................................................................................................ 154

6.16 General Requirements ................................................................................................... 164

6.17 Detailed Requirements ................................................................................................... 171

6.17.7 Implementation Requirements .................................................................................... 193

6.18 Project implementation Schedule.................................................................................... 203

6.19 Minimum Resource Requirements .................................................................................. 205

6.20 Annexure A: Monthly Calls on 139 from July 2007 to Mar 2021 ....................................... 209

6.21 Annexure B: Monthly SMS on 139 from July 2007 to March 2021 ................................... 211

6.22 Annexure C: Call Volumetric as per language ................................................................. 212


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GLOSSARY

Abbreviation Description

ACD AUTOMATIC CALL DISTRIBUTION

AI ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

AMC ANNUAL MAINTENANCE CONTRACT

ASR AUTOMATIC SPEECH RECOGNITION

BPO BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING

BSNL BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED

COMS COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

CRIS CENTRE FOR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS

CRM CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

CTI COMPUTER TELEPHONY INTEGRATION

DC DATA CENTRE

DNIS DIALED NUMBER IDENTIFICATION SERVICE

DOT DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION

DR DISASTER RECOVERY

EMD EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT

FAQ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GUI GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

IoT INTERNET OF THINGS

IRCTC INDIAN RAILWAY CATERING AND TOURISM CORPORATION

IRHES INTEGRATED RAILWAY HELPLINE AND ENQUIRY SYSTEM

ISDN-PRI INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORK PRIMARY RATE INTERFACE

IT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

IVRS INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE SYSTEM

MeitY MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

ML MACHINE LEARNING

NLP NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING

NTES NATIONAL TRAIN ENQUIRY SYSTEM

SD SECURITY DEPOSIT

PBX PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE

PPP PUBLIC PRIVATE PRATNERSHIP

PRI PRIMARY RATE INTERFACE


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Abbreviation Description

PRS PASSENGER RESERVATION SYSTEM

PSTN PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK

RCC REGIONAL CALL CENTRE

REA RAILWAY ENQUIRY APPLICATION

RECCN RAIL ENQUIRY CALL CENTRE NETWORK

REF RAIL ENQUIRY FRANCHISEE

SMS SHORT MESSAGING SERVICE

SLA SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT

STD SUBSCRIBER TRUNK DIALLING

TRAI TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

TTS TEXT TO SPEECH

UAN UNIVERSAL ACCESS NUMBER

VAS VALUE ADDED SERVICE

WLL WIRELESS IN LOCAL LOOP

DISCLAIMER

a. Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd., herein after mentioned as “IRCTC” does not make any representation or warranty as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the


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information in this Bid Document. Therefore, each Bidder should conduct their own investigations and analysis and check the accuracy, reliability and completeness of the information in this Bid Document and obtain independent advice from appropriate sources. The Bidder shall bear all its costs associated with the preparation and submission of its Bid including expenses associated with any clarifications which may be required by IRCTC or any other costs incurred in connection with or relating to its Bid. All such costs and expenses will remain with the Bidder, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process and IRCTC shall not be liable in any manner.

b. IRCTC will have no liability to any Bidder or any other person under the law of contract, tort, the principles of restitution or unjust enrichment or otherwise for any loss, expense or damage which may arise from or be incurred or suffered in connection with anything contained in this Bid Document, any matter deemed to form part of this Bid Document, the award of the contract/License, the information and any other information supplied by or on behalf of Railway/IRCTC or otherwise arising in any way from the selection process of the bidder.

c. The issue of this Document does not imply that IRCTC is bound to select the Bidder or to appoint the Selected Bidder. IRCTC reserves the right to reject any or all of the Bids submitted in response to this Bid Document at any stage without assigning any reason whatsoever. IRCTC also reserves the right to withhold or withdraw the process at any stage.

d. The information contained in this Bid document or subsequently provided to the Bidder(s), whether verbally or in documentary form by or on behalf of the IRCTC or any of their employees or advisor, is provided to the Bidder(s) on the terms and conditions set out in this Bid Document or any other terms and conditions subject to which information is provided.

e. This request for Bid submission is not an agreement and is neither an offer nor invitation by

IRCTC 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 making their financial offers

(Bids) pursuant to this RFP. This RFP includes statements, which reflects various assumptions

and assessments arrived at by the IRCTC in relation to the Project. Such assumptions,

assessments do not purport to contain all the information that each Bidder may require. This RFP

may not be appropriate for all the persons, and it is not possible for the IRCTC, its employees or

consultants to consider the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of each

party who reads or uses this RFP.

f. IRCTC reserves the right to change/ modify/amend any or all of the provisions of this Bid Document at any stage.

g. Each Bidder’s acceptance of delivery of this Tender constitutes its agreement to, and acceptance of the terms set forth in this Disclaimer. By acceptance of this Tender, the recipient agrees that this Tender and any information herewith supersedes document(s) or earlier information, if any, in relation to the subject matter hereof.

Section I: Invitation to bidders


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1 Section I: Invitation to Bidder

Invitation to Bid

Tender Notice No: 2021/IRCTC/SERVICES/IRHES/139

Date: 03.12, 2021

From:

GGM/Services

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC),

Punj House, M-13, Connaught Place

New Delhi- 110001.

To:

All Prospective bidders

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), invites responses (“Proposals”/

“Bids”) to this Request for Proposal (Tender) from eligible organizations, who meet the minimum

eligibility criteria, as specified in this bidding document for “Selection of Managed Service Partner

(MSP) for Integrated Railways Helpline& Enquiry System -139”.

1. A bidder will be selected based on the Pre-Qualification, Technical and Financial evaluation

criteria and procedures, described in this tender.

2. Bidder is advised to study this tender document carefully, before submitting their proposals, in

response to the tender Notice. Submission of a proposal in response to this notice shall be

deemed to have been done after careful study and examination of this document with full

understanding of its terms, conditions and implications.

3. The time, date and venue details related to the pre-bid conference and proposal submission

are mentioned in the Key Events and Dates Sheet. Proposals that are received after the

deadline will not be considered in this procurement process.

4. To obtain first-hand information on the assignment, bidders are encouraged to attend the pre-

bid meeting. However, attending the pre-bid meeting is optional.

Thanks & Regards,

Group General Manager /Services,

IRCTC

1. This RFP document is not transferable.

1.1 Participation by Joint Venture is permitted.

2. Contact Details


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Name of the client & RFP

Issuing Authority Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)

Name of the RFP Selection of Managed Service Partner (MSP) for Integrated

Railways Helpline System -139

Contact person Group General Manager /Services,

Contact Address IRCTC Office, Punj House, M-13, Connaught Place, New

Delhi-110001

Contact Number 011-23311263-64 Extn.730

Contact e-mail ID [email protected]

3. Important Dates

(a) Date of Start of issue of RFP / Publication of RFP in

e-Procurement Portal

03.12.2021

(b) Document download start date 04.12.2021

(c) Seek clarification Start Date 06.12. 2021

(d) Last date to submit pre-bid queries 15.12.2021

(e) Date and time of Online (VC) 1ST pre-bid meeting

Online meeting link will be made available on

www.irctc.com/ActiveTender

20.12. 2021@1230 Hrs

(f) Date and time of Online (VC) 2nd pre-bid meeting

Online meeting link will be made available on

www.irctc.com/ActiveTender

06.01. 2022@1230 Hrs

(f) Last date & time for submission of RFP response 24.01. 2022 upto 1500 Hrs

(g) Date & time of opening of Pre-qualification &

Technical bids (Packet-A)

24.01. 2022 upto 1530 Hrs

(h) Date of Financial Bid opening (Packet-B) To be intimated later

(k) Bid validity 180 days from the bid

submission due date

4. RFP Data sheet

SNo.

Information

Details

1. Availability of RFP documents

Tender Document may be downloaded from https/ www.tenderwizard.com/irctc & www.irctc.com/ActiveTender Portal 2.

Non-Refundable Tender Cost

Not Applicable

3. Language Proposals should be submitted in English only

http://www.irctc.com/ActiveTender


http://https/%20www.tenderwizard.com/irctc

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SNo.

Information

Details

4.

Earnest Money Deposit

All bidders are exempted from submission of EMD, except those disqualified from such exemption by IRCTC/PSUs/other Govt bodies. However in this regard “Bidder is required to submit as "Bid Securing Declaration" in place of EMD.

5. Method of Selection

The bidder must qualify the pre-qualification criteria. The Bidder shall be shortlisted based on Prequalify Criteria & Technical evaluation (Please refer section II for details). Financial proposal of shortlisted bidders will be opened, and bidder shall be selected on Lowest cost basis ( H1 or L1)

6. Signing of Contract with IRCTC

Within 30 days after Declaration of result and submission of Performance Security Deposit.

7. Agreement Period Implementation period of 3 months, followed by 5 Years of Operations and Maintenance

8. Required Proposals

Technical Bid along with Pre-Qualification Bid (e-bid packet A) AND Financial Bid (e-bid packet-B)

I. Bidders must note bids received after due date and time shall be rejected. Purchaser

would not be responsible for any delay in submission of bids. Bids sent through email/

fax/post or otherwise in physical form shall not be accepted.

II. This Tender Document can only be submitted/ received online at

http://www.tenderwizard.com/IRCTC.

III. To participate in the e-Tender, it is mandatory for the bidders to register themselves with

M/s ITI. A detailed procedure for bidding is placed at www.tenderwizard.com/IRCTC.

IV. The applicant should also upload complete set of documents in support of Eligibility

Criteria as mentioned in the tender document, duly digitally signed by authorized signatory.

V. For any difficulty in downloading & submission of tender document on website

www.tenderwizard.com/IRCTC, please contact at tenderwizard.com helpdesk no. 011-

49424365 or cell no. 09599653865

VI. The Special Terms of Contract (SCC) as laid down in this document override the terms

laid down in GCC. All terms and conditions not specifically mentioned in SCC shall be laid

down/applicable as in the GCC.

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Section II: Instruction to bidders

RFP for Selection of Managed Service Partner (MSP) for Integrated Railways Helpline and Enquiry System -139

Page 14 of 191

2 Section II: Instruction to Bidders

2.1 Nature of Project

2.1.1 This tender Document is to seek proposals from leading Managed Service Partners (‘MSPs’)

or Call Centre Service Providers (CCSPs) or suitably qualified and experienced Bidders i.e.,

Proprietorship or partnership firm/company/joint ventures (hereafter referred as ‘Bidders’) for

Design, Development, Implementation and Maintenance of the Integrated Railways Helpline &

Enquiry System-139 (‘Services’).

2.2 Nature of Tender

2.2.1 E-Open Bids are invited by IRCTC for Design, Development, Implementation and

Maintenance of the Integrated Railways Helpline & Enquiry System-139 which includes the

following four components:

I. Contact Centre for IRHES 139

II. Cloud Service Provision

III. Operations and Maintenance of IRHES 139

IV. Capacity Building and Training

The details about the Scope of Work are mentioned in section V “Scope of work” of RFP.

2.3 Contents of the RFP

2.3.1 The scope of work tender procedure and contract terms are prescribed in the RFP document.

The RFP document includes:

Section Content

Section I Invitation to Bidders

Section II Instructions to Bidders

Section III General Conditions of Contract

Section IV Bid Submission Formats and SLA

Section V Scope of Work

2.4 Cost of Bidding Process

2.4.1 The Bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of its bid,

including cost of presentations etc. for the purposes of clarification of the bid, if so desired by

IRCTC.

2.5 Clarification on RFP Document

2.5.1 A prospective Bidder requiring any clarification on the RFP Document may submit the queries

as per schedule indicated in Section I. The queries must be submitted in the following format

in editable form (Excel format) through email to [email protected]:

Bidder’s Request for Clarification


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Name and Address of the

Organization submitting request

Name and Position of Person

submitting request

Contact Details of the

Organization or Authorized

Representative

Tel:

Fax:

Email:

S. No

RFP Reference

Content of RFP requiring

clarification Points of clarification required

Section Page

No.

Clause

No.

2.5.2 IRCTC will respond, to any request for clarification to queries on the RFP Document, received not later than the date prescribed by IRCTC in Section I of this RFP document.

2.5.3 IRCTC reserves the right to accept / not to accept requests of changes in specification/ clauses of tender through Corrigendum or addendum regarding this Tender. If needed after pre-bid meeting, Corrigendum/Addendum may only be published/uploaded on the tender wizard portal and IRCTC website www.irctc.com. IRCTC reserves the right not to respond to queries raised during /prior/ after pre-bid meeting. The queries which are considered by IRCTC will be incorporated in corrigendum and made part of tender.

2.5.4 Pre-bid Queries

2.5.5 A Pre-bid meeting will be organized as per the date and time provided in Section I to answer

the queries, if raised by the bidders.

2.5.6 Queries may be posted by all prospective bidders on the tender document to clarify any

doubts or concerns. The bidders must submit their queries in writing through email by the date

indicated in section I of this document.

2.5.7 All clarifications/questions must reference the appropriate Tender page and section number.

Bidders must enquire in writing with respect to any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy,

exclusionary specification, omission or other error in this Tender prior to submitting the

proposal. If a Bidder fails to notify IRCTC of any error, ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy,

exclusionary specification or omission, the Bidder shall submit the proposal at its own risk

and, if awarded the contract, shall have waived any claim that the Tender and contract were

ambiguous and shall not contest IRCTC’s interpretation. If no error or ambiguity is reported by

the deadline for submitting written questions, the Bidder shall not be entitled to additional

compensation, relief or time by reason of the error or its later correction.

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2.6 Amendment of RFP Document

2.6.1 At any time prior to the deadline for submission of Bids, IRCTC may, for any reason, whether

at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a prospective bidder, modify

the Bid document by amendments. Such amendments shall be uploaded on the websites

https://www.irctc.com/Activetenders and http://www.tenderwizard.com/IRCTC through

corrigendum/addedum and shall form an integral part of Bid document. The relevant clauses

of the Bid document shall be treated as amended accordingly.

2.6.2 It shall be the sole responsibility of the prospective bidders to check the IRCTC website

http://www.tenderwizard.com/IRCTC from time to time for any amendment in this RFP. In

case of failure to get the amendments, if any, IRCTC shall not be responsible for it.

2.6.3 To allow prospective Bidders a reasonable time to take the amendment into account in

preparing their Bids, IRCTC, at its discretion, may extend the deadline for the submission of

Bids. Such extensions shall be uploaded on websites http://www.tenderwizard.com/IRCTC

and https://www.irctc.com/Activetenders

2.7 Language of Bids

2.7.1 The Bids prepared by the Bidder and all correspondence and documents relating to the bids

exchanged by the Bidder and IRCTC, shall be written in English language, provided that any

printed literature furnished by the Bidder may be written in another language so long the same

is accompanied by a duly certified English translation in which case, for purposes of

interpretation of the bid, the English translation shall govern.

2.8 Procedure for Submission of Bids

The bidders are required to submit soft copies of their bids electronically on the tenderwizard

portal online duly digitally signed. The last date and time of submission of bids shall be as per

Data Sheet in Section I of the RFP. Online submission is mandatory form of submission for

the bidder, no offline/ physical form submissions will be accepted. Submission of Bids should

be done online through E-Tender process as mentioned below:

2.8.1 The entire process of evaluation of the offers shall be in two stage i.e.

i. Packet A/Part A- Pre-Qualification Bid & Technical Bid

and

ii. Financial Bid- Part B.

2.8.2 Complete tender document, including all Annexure, with supporting documents, Technical

Bid- Part A shall be uploaded online under Technical Bid option. The documents uploaded

should be properly printed scanned and should be clearly legible.

2.8.3 The Financial Bid- Part B, shall also be only be submitted online under Financial Bid option as

per available excel format (with no change in format).

2.8.4 Do not upload financial bid/Price indication under Technical bid option. The Techno-

commercial Bid/Un-priced Bid shall contain only the technical and commercial details except

the prices. No price shall be provided in the Technical-commercial Bid/Un-Priced Bid (Part A),

otherwise the offer shall be rejected.

2.8.5 IRCTC reserves the right to terminate the bidding process at any stage and will not be

responsible for any loss or damages that the bidder may incur in the process. The Bids can

be rejected without assigning any reason. The bidding process is completed with the issue of

letter of award to the successful bidder by IRCTC.

2.8.6 Conditional /Telegraphic Bids /Physical Bids shall not be entertained. Photocopy/reproduction

on party’s letterhead is not permissible. Bids submission process will be end as per

prescribed schedule after due date and time for submission of tender.

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2.8.7 The bidders may anytime withdraw their bids till the last date and time of submission;

however, the bidder shall not able to re-submit the bid thereafter. In case of withdrawal of bid

the tender processing charges, if any shall not be refunded.

2.8.8 If Bidder or any of its partner/s or sister concern, who have been debarred by

IRCTC/Railways/PSUs/Other Govt Department, then Bidder shall also be debarred from

participating in the future projects of IRCTC/Railway/PSUs/Other Govt Department and shall

not be eligible to participate in any tender, during the period of such debarment.

2.8.9 No overwriting/cutting/insertion in the Bid document is allowed. The Bids once submitted

would be binding on the Party and any subsequent alteration/amendment will not be

entertained. However, IRCTC may call for additional documents from bidders.

2.8.10 IRCTC may terminate the contract, if it is found that the bidder is wilful defaulter of

bank/financial institution or blacklisted by any of the Government Departments/ Institutions /

Local Bodies / Municipalities / Public Sector Undertaking etc.

2.8.11 IRCTC reserves the right to reject any / all bids including the highest bid/lowest bid or

withdraw the tender at any stage without assigning any reasons. Nothing contained herein

shall confer right upon a bidder or any obligation upon IRCTC.

2.8.12 It would be desirable that prior to the submission of bid, the bidder has made a complete and

careful examination of the requirements and other information set forth in this bid document.

2.8.13 Preparation of Bids

2.8.13.1 Bidder shall consider any corrigendum published on the tender document before

submitting their bids.

2.8.13.2 Please go through the tender advertisement and the tender document carefully to

understand the documents required to be submitted as part of the bid.

2.8.13.3 Any deficiency in the documentation may result in the rejection of the Bid.

2.8.13.4 Bidder, in advance, should get ready the bid documents to be submitted as indicated in the

tender document / schedule and generally, they can be in PDF / XLS / RAR / DWF

formats. Bid documents may be scanned with 100 dpi with black and white option.

2.9 Documents Comprising the Bids

The bid prepared by the Bidder shall be in two packets and comprise of the following

components:

2.9.1 Packet A: Pre-Qualification Bid and Technical Bid

2.9.1.1 All the details/relevant documentary evidences as per Technical Criteria mentioned in

section 2.25 & 2.26 with duly digitally by the authorized signatory of the applicant.

2.9.1.2 Bid Securing Declaration Performa inplace of Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to be

uploaded duly signed by authorised signatory & stamped on bidder’s company letter head

online as mentioned in Section 1 of the tender.

2.9.1.3 The offer form (marked as Prequalification & Technical Bid – Part A), only submitted

digitally signed.

2.9.1.4 The Bidders are required to submit the Bids completed in all respect in terms of the

instructions specified in the Tender Document along with all Annexure and supporting

documents before the specified Bid Due date.

2.9.1.5 The Bidders should satisfy the eligibility criteria mentioned in the Tender Document and

submit including the Tender Document.

2.9.1.6 Here the undertaking refers to letterhead of the Bidder directly or of its or indirectly through

its parent entity wherever applicable.


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2.9.1.7 Bidder needs to include all requirements as per the Clause 5.22 of Section IV, Checklist of

Technical Proposal Response.

2.9.2 Packet B: Financial Bid

Documents to be submitted online by the Bidders with the Financial bid.

2.9.2.1 The financial bid will be called as per call transaction cost for five years.

2.9.2.2 The financial bid is having two different bid options. In which,

If bidder feels that IRHES- 139 project is financially viable enough to pay per call fee to

IRCTC, then bidder will quote negative per call rate

OR

If bid value is in positive numbers, then IRCTC will pay per call fee to the Bidder during the

project.

2.10 Bid Prices

2.10.1 The Bidder shall indicate in the Performa prescribed at Clause 5.21 of Section IV of this RFP,

the unit rates of the services, it proposes to provide under the Contract.

2.10.2 In the absence of information as requested above, a bid shall be considered incomplete and

summarily rejected.

2.10.3 The Bidder shall prepare the bid based on details provided in the RFP documents. The Bidder

shall carry out all the tasks in accordance with the requirement of the RFP documents and it

shall be the responsibility of the Bidder to fully meet all the requirements of the RFP

documents.

2.10.4 The Bidder as part of its Financial Bid should account for all charges, levies and other

expenses that the Bidder shall incur during the contract period. GST will be extra over &

above the quoted prices.

2.11 Firm Prices

2.11.1 Prices quoted must be firm and final and shall remain constant throughout the period of the

contract and shall not be subject to any upward modifications, on any account whatsoever.

The Bidder shall, therefore, indicate the prices in Clause 5.21 of Section IV of this RFP. The

Bid Prices shall be indicated in Indian Rupees (INR) only.

2.11.2 The Financial Bid should clearly indicate the price to be charged/to pay without any

qualifications whatsoever and should include all expenses, duties, fees, levies, works contract

tax and other charges as may be applicable in relation to the activities proposed to be carried

out.

2.11.3 A financial bid submitted with an adjustable price quotation or conditional bid shall be treated

as non-responsive and the bid shall be rejected summarily.

2.12 Discount

2.12.1 The Bidder is advised not to indicate any separate discount. Discount, if any, should be

merged with the quoted prices. Discount of any type, indicated separately, will not be

considered for evaluation purpose.


Page 19 of 191

2.13 Bidder Qualification

2.13.1 The “Bidder” as used in the RFP documents shall mean the organization on whose behalf the

RFP response has been submitted. The Bidder may be either the Principal Officer (MD/

Company Secretary) or his/her duly Authorized Representative, in which case he/she shall

submit a power of attorney. All certificates and documents (including any clarifications sought

and any subsequent correspondences) received hereby, shall be furnished and signed by the

representative or the principal.

2.13.2 It is further clarified that the individual signing the RFP or other documents in connection with

the RFP must certify whether he/she signs as:

1. Constituted attorney of the Company, if it is a company

OR

2. The principal officer or his/her duly assigned authorized representative of the bidder, in

which case he/she shall submit a certificate of authority on behalf of the bidder.

3. Lead member of Joint Venture

2.13.3 The authorization shall be indicated by power-of-attorney accompanying the bid.

2.14 Period of Validity of Bids

2.14.1 Bids shall remain valid for a period of as mentioned in Section 1 of this RFP. A bid valid for a

shorter period shall be rejected by IRCTC as non-responsive and shall not be taken up for

evaluation purposes.

2.14.2 IRCTC may request the Bidder(s) for an extension of the period of validity. The request and

the responses thereto shall be made in writing (or by fax or by e-mail).

2.15 Terms and Conditions of Bidder

2.15.1 Terms and conditions (General Conditions) of the Bidder will not be considered as forming

part of their Bids. In case terms and conditions of the contract applicable to this Invitation of

RFP are not acceptable to any Bidder, he or she should clearly specify deviation in his or her

Technical Bid. Similarly, in case the Services being offered have deviations from the

requirements or specifications laid down in this RFP, the Bidder shall describe in what

respects and to what extent the Services being offered differ or deviate from the

requirements, even though the deviations may not be very material. The Bidder must state

categorically whether his offer conforms to RFP requirements or specifications and indicate

deviations, if any, in his Technical Bid (Clause 5.15 of Section 4) of this RFP)

2.15.2 Any deviations or assumptions mentioned elsewhere in the Bid, other than the formats

(Clause 5.15 of Section 4 of this RFP) will not be considered by IRCTC.

2.15.3 All deviations should be closed before the financial opening by mutual discussion between

IRCTC and Bidder. Financial bid would be opened only after closure of all deviations by the

technically successful bidders

2.16 Local Conditions

2.16.1 It will be incumbent upon each Bidder to fully acquaint himself with the local conditions and

factors at all respective locations, sites and offices which would have any effect on the

performance of the contract and or the cost.

2.16.2 The Bidder is expected to obtain for himself on his own responsibility all information that may

be necessary for preparing the bid and entering into contract. Obtaining such information shall

be at Bidder’s own cost.

2.16.3 Failure to obtain the information necessary for preparing the bid and or failure to perform

activities that may be necessary for project will in no way relieve the successful Bidder from

performing any work in accordance with the contract entered.


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2.16.4 It will be imperative for each Bidder to fully inform themselves of all local and legal conditions

and factors which may have any effect on the execution of the contract as described in the

RFP documents.

2.16.5 It is the responsibility of the Bidder that such factors have properly been investigated and

considered while submitting the bid response and that no claim whatsoever including those

for financial adjustment to the contract awarded under the bidding documents will be

entertained by IRCTC and that neither any change in the time schedule of the contract nor

any financial adjustments arising thereof shall be permitted by IRCTC on account of failure of

the Bidder to appraise themselves of local laws and conditions.

2.17 Last Date for Receipt of Bids

2.17.1 Bids will be received by IRCTC as specified under Section 1 of the RFP not later than the time

and date specified in Data Sheet in Section 1. In the event of the specified date for the receipt

of Bids being declared a holiday for IRCTC, the Bids will be opened on the next working day.

2.17.2 IRCTC may, at its discretion, extend the last date for the receipt of bids by amending the RFP

Document, in which case all rights and obligations of IRCTC and Bidder previously subject to

the last date will thereafter be subject to the last date as extended.

2.18 Modification and Withdrawal of Bids

2.18.1 No bid may be altered / modified after submission to IRCTC. Unsolicited correspondences in

this regard from Bidder will not be considered.

2.18.2 No bid may be withdrawn in the interval between the last date for receipt of bids and the

expiry of the bid validity period specified by the Bidder in the Bid. Also refer in this context,

penal actions as mentioned in EMD Clause 5.12 and Bid Securing Declaration.

2.19 Contacting IRCTC

2.19.1 No Bidder shall contact IRCTC on any matter relating to its bid, from the time of the bid

opening to the time the Contract is awarded.

2.19.2 Any effort by a Bidder to influence IRCTC bid evaluation, bid comparison or contract award

decisions shall result in the rejection of the Bidder’s bid.

2.20 Participation of Joint Venture (JV): This Clause shall be applicable for tenders wherein tender (RFP) documents specifically permit for the same.

2.20.1 Separate identity/name shall be given to the Joint Venture.

2.20.2 Number of members in a JV shall not be more than two. One of the members of the JV shall

be its Lead Member who shall have a majority (at least 51%) share of interest in the JV. In

case of JV with foreign member(s), the Lead Member has to be an Indian firm/company with a

minimum share of 51%.

2.20.3 A member of JV shall not be permitted to participate either in individual capacity or as a

member of another JV in the same tender.

2.20.4 The bid shall be submitted only in the name of the JV and not in the name of any constituent

member. The tender can however be submitted by JV or any of its constituent member or any

person authorized by JV through Power of Attorney to submit tender.

2.20.5 Earnest Money Deposit (EMD)/ Bid Securing Declaration shall be submitted by JV or

authorized person of JV as mentioned in tender document.


Page 21 of 191

2.20.6 A copy of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)/Joint Agreement as per Appendix-I duly

executed by the JV members on a stamp paper, shall be submitted by the JV along with the

tender. The complete details of the members of the JV, their share and responsibility in the JV

etc. particularly with reference to financial, technical and other obligations shall be furnished in

the JV Agreement.

2.20.7 Once the tender is submitted, the MoU/Joint Agreement shall not be modified / altered /

terminated during the validity of the tender. In case the tenderer fails to observe/comply with

this stipulation, penal action as per terms of tender will be applicable.

2.20.8 Approval for change of constitution of JV shall be at the sole discretion of the IRCTC. The

constitution of the JV shall not be allowed to be modified after submission of the tender bid by

the JV, except when modification becomes inevitable due to succession laws etc., provided

further that there is no change in qualification of minimum eligibility criteria by JV after change

of composition. However, the Lead Member shall continue to be the Lead Member of the JV.

Failure to observe this requirement would render the offer invalid.

2.20.9 Similarly, after the contract is awarded, the constitution of JV shall not be allowed to be

altered during the currency of contract except when modification become inevitable due to

succession laws etc. and minimum eligibility criteria should not get vitiated. Failure to observe

this stipulation shall be deemed to be breach of contract with all consequential penal action as

per contract conditions.

2.20.10 On award of contract to a JV, a single Performance Guarantee/Security Deposit shall be

submitted by the JV as per tender conditions. All the Guarantees like Performance

Guarantee, Bank Guarantee for Mobilization Advance, Machinery Advance etc. shall be

accepted only in the name of the JV and no splitting of guarantees amongst the members of

the JV shall be permitted.

2.20.11 On issue of LOA (Letter of Acceptance), the JV entity to whom the work has been awarded,

with the same shareholding pattern as was declared in the MOU/JV Agreement submitted

along with the tender, shall be got registered before the Registrar of the Companies under

'The Companies Act -2013' (in case of Company) or before the Registrar/Sub-Registrar under

the 'The Indian Partnership Act, 1932' (in case of Partnership Firm) or under 'The LLP Act

2008' (in case of LLP). A separate PAN shall be obtained for this entity. The documents

pertaining to this entity including its PAN shall be furnished to the IRCTC before signing the

contract agreement for the work. In case the tenderer fails to observe/comply with this

stipulation within 40 days of issue of LOA, contract is liable to be terminated. In case contract

is terminated, IRCTC shall be entitled to forfeit the full amount of the Earnest Money Deposit

and other dues payable to the Contractor under this contract, and or with all consequential

penal action as per contract conditions. The entity so registered, in the registered documents,

shall have, inter-alia, following Clauses:

2.20.12 Joint And Several Liability - Members of the JV entity to which the contract is awarded, shall

be jointly and severally liable to the IRCTC for execution of the contract in accordance with

General and Special Conditions of contract. The members of the entity shall also be liable

jointly and severally for the loss, damage caused to the IRCTC during the course of execution

of the contract or due to non-execution of the contract or part thereof.

2.20.13 Duration of the Registered Entity- It shall be valid during the entire currency of the contract

including the period of extension, if any and the maintenance period after the work is

completed.

2.20.14 Governing Laws - The Registered Entity shall in all respect be governed by and interpreted in

accordance with Indian Laws.


Page 22 of 191

2.20.15 Authorized Member - Joint Venture members in the JV MoU/Agreement shall authorize one of

the members as Lead member on behalf of the Joint Venture (as Appendix-III) to deal with the

tender, sign the agreement or enter into contract in respect of the said tender, to receive

payment, to witness joint measurement of work done, to sign measurement books and similar

such action in respect of the said tender/contract. All notices/correspondences with respect to

the contract would be sent only to this authorized member of the JV.

2.20.16 No member of the Joint Venture shall have the right to assign or transfer the interest right or

liability in the contract without the written consent of the other member and that of the IRCTC

in respect of the said tender/contract.

2.20.17 Documents to be enclosed by the JV along with the tender:

2.20.18 In case one or both of the members of the JV is/are partnership firm(s), following

documents shall be submitted:

a. A notarized copy of the Partnership Deed, A copy of consent of all the partners or

individual authorized by partnership firm, to enter into the Joint Venture Agreement on a

stamp paper,

b. A notarized or registered copy of Power of Attorney in favour of the individual to sign the

MOU/JV Agreement on behalf of the partnership firm and create liability against the firm.

2.20.18.1 In case one or both members is/are HUF, the following documents shall be enclosed:

A copy of notarized affidavit on Stamp Paper declaring that he who is signing the affidavit on

behalf of HUF is in the position of ‘Karta’ of Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and he has the

authority, power and consent given by other members to act on behalf of HUF.

2.21.18.2 In case one or both members of the JV is/are companies, the following documents shall be submitted:

a. A copy of resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company, permitting the company to enter into a JV agreement,

b. The copies of MOA (Memorandum of Association) / AOA (Articles of Association) of the company

c. A copy of d. e. f. g. h. i. Certificate of Incorporation j. A copy of Authorization/copy of Power of Attorney issued by the Company (backed by

the resolution of Board of Directors) in favour of the individual to sign the tender, sign MOU/JV Agreement on behalf of the company and creates liability against the company.

2.21.19 All the Members of JV shall certify that they are not blacklisted or debarred by Railways/IRCTC or any other Ministry / Department of the Govt. of India from participation in tenders/contract on the date of opening of bids either in their individual capacity or as a member of the JV in which they were/are members. 2. 22.0 All other documents in terms of qualifying criteria.

Credentials & Qualifying Criteria: Technical and financial eligibility of the JV shall be adjudged based on satisfactory fulfilment of the following criteria:

i. The technical qualifying criteria for the work for the work experience shall

be satisfied by either the ‘JV in its own name & style’ or ‘any member in

individual capacity.

ii. The arithmetic sum of individual “Turnover figures” of both the members shall be taken as

JV’s “financial capacity” to satisfy this requirement for the purpose of satisfying compliance of

the mentioned financial eligibility criteria in the tender under consideration.


Page 23 of 191

iii. Credentials if submitted in foreign currency shall be converted into Indian currency i.e., Indian

Rupee as under:

iv. The conversion rate of US Dollars into Rupees shall be the daily representative exchange

rates published by the Reserve Bank of India for the relevant date. Where, relevant date shall

be as on the last day of month previous to the one in which tender is invited. In case of any

other currency, the same shall first be converted to US Dollars as on the last day of month

previous to the one in which tender is invited, and the amount so derived in US Dollars shall

be converted into Rupees at the aforesaid rate. The conversion rate of such currencies shall

be the daily representative exchange rates published by the International Monetary Fund for

the relevant date.

v. In case of JV, Status of JV or Lead member shall be considered for the purpose of benefits

available to MSEs/Startups and purchase preference as available in Government

procurement as per extant notifications of GoI.

vi. Joint Venture (JV) is not a mandatory condition. A Bidder meeting all the qualification criteria

mentioned for a bidder may bid independently for this RFP/tender.

vi. In case of JV, the Lead Member must necessarily satisfy the Qualification criteria as

mentioned in clause 2.25 & 2.26 of this section.

vii. The Prime Bidder/Lead Member shall be the prime point of contact for IRCTC and shall be

primarily responsible for the discharge and administration of all the obligations for this project.

The sole responsibility under the contract would be that of the Prime Bidder only.

viii. Sub-contracting is allowed only for following job:

Cloud Services

ix. The Bidder shall be the principal employer for all claims arising from the liabilities statutory or

otherwise, concerning the sub-contractors. The prime bidder/contractor will be responsible for

the acts, defaults and neglects of any subcontractor, his agents, servants or workmen as fully

as if these were its own acts, defaults or neglects, or those of its agents, servants or

workmen.

x. The Bidder shall not appoint any delegate/sub-contractor without the consent in writing of the

Land Ports Authority of India for the performance of Services under this contract. It is

desirable that the number of sub-contractors engaged by the Bidder for this contract is kept to

the minimum possible.

xi. All the personnel proposed by the Bidder except sub-contracting services should be

necessarily be on the payroll of the Bidder/JV.

xii. The Bidder shall be responsible and shall ensure the proper performance of the sub-

contractors and shall be liable for any non-performance or breach by such System

Integrators. The Bidder indemnifies and shall keep indemnified Purchaser against any losses,

damages, claims or such other implications arising from or out of the acts and omissions of

such providers. The Bidder shall be responsible for making all payments to the sub-

contractors as may be necessary, in respect of any services performed or task executed, and

the Purchaser shall not be responsible for any part or full payment which is too due to such

System Integrators.

xiii. All rights of use of any process, product, service or facility developed or any other task

performed by the sub-contractors for the Bidder, under this contract would lie exclusively with

the Purchaser in perpetuity free from all liens, encumbrances and other third-party rights and

the Bidder shall, wherever required, take all steps that may be necessary to ensure the

transfer of such ownership in favour of the Purchaser.

xiv. Nothing in this Contract or any agreement hereunder shall relieve the Bidder from its liabilities

or obligations under this Contract to provide the services in accordance with this Contract.

The Purchaser reserves the right to hold the Bidder liable for any act/omission of sub-

contractors.


Page 24 of 191

xv. The Bidder shall ensure that the Sub-Contractor appointed is competent, professional and

possesses the requisite qualifications and experience appropriate to the tasks they will

perform.

xvi. The terms of Bidder’s contract / agreement with the sub-contractor (excluding the Financial

terms) for this assignment shall require the review and approval of the Purchaser and shall be

in conformity with the terms of this Contract. Where the Purchaser deems necessary, it may

refuse to consent to the delegation of services to the sub-contractor(s). The Bidder shall not

amend or modify the terms of contract / agreement with the sub-contractor(s) without the prior

written consent of the Purchaser.

xvii. Where the Purchaser deems necessary, it shall have the right to require replacement of any

sub-contractor with another system Integrator and the Bidder shall in such case terminate

forthwith all agreements / contracts other arrangements with such system integrator and find

suitable replacement for such system integrator to the satisfaction of the Purchaser at no

additional charge. Failure on the part of the Bidder to find a suitable replacement and/or

terminate all agreements / contracts with such member, shall amount to a breach of the terms

hereof and the Purchaser in addition to all other rights, have the right to claim damages and

recover from the Bidder all losses/ or other damages that may have resulted from such failure.

xviii. The Bidder shall not terminate the contract / agreement with the sub-contractor(s) without

prior written consent of the Purchaser. Further, in case the Bidder terminates any

contract/arrangement or agreement with a sub-contractor for any reason whatsoever, the

Bidder shall ensure the smooth continuation of services by providing forthwith, a suitable

replacement which is acceptable to the Purchaser at no additional cost to the Purchaser.

2.23 Criteria for Evaluation of Bids

2.23.1 The Bidder must possess the requisite experience, strength and capabilities in providing the

services necessary to meet the Purchaser’s requirements, as described in the RFP

Documents. The Bidder must possess the technical know-how and the financial wherewithal

that would be required to successfully provide the services sought by the Purchaser, for the

entire period of the contract. The Bidder’s bid must be complete in all respect and covering

the entire scope of work as stipulated in the RFP document.

2.23.2 Each of the responses shall be evaluated as per the criterions and requirements specified in

this RFP.

2.23.3 Initial Proposal scrutiny will be held to confirm that Proposals do not suffer from the infirmities

detailed below. Proposals will be treated as non-responsive, if a Proposal is found to have

been:

i. Submitted in manner not conforming with the manner specified in the RFP document

ii. Submitted without appropriate bid securing declaration as prescribed in tender document

iii. Received without power of attorney

iv. Containing subjective/incomplete information

v. Submitted without the documents requested in the checklist

vi. Non-compliant with any of the clauses stipulated in the RFP

vii. Having lesser than the prescribed validity period.

2.24 Evaluation Process

2.24.1 The evaluation process of the RFP proposed to be adopted by the Purchaser is indicated

under this clause.

2.24.2 IRCTC will constitute a committee to evaluate the responses of the Bidders (Tender

Committee).


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2.24.3 The Tender Committee constituted by the IRCTC shall evaluate the responses to the RFP

and all supporting documents / documentary evidence. Inability of a Bidder to submit requisite

supporting documents / documentary evidence within a reasonable time provided to it, may

lead to the Bidder’s Proposal being declared non-responsive.

2.24.4 The decision of the IRCTC in the evaluation of responses to the RFP shall be final. No

correspondence will be entertained outside the process of negotiation/ discussion with the

Technical Evaluation Committee.

2.24.5 IRCTC reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals based on any deviations contained in

them.

2.24.6 Preliminary Examination

2.24.6.1 The Purchaser will examine the bids to determine whether they are complete, whether

the bid format confirms to the RFP requirements, whether required bid securing

declaration has been furnished, whether the documents have been properly signed, and

whether the bids are generally in order.

2.24.7 Clarification

2.24.7.1 When deemed necessary, during the tendering process, the Purchaser may seek

clarifications on any aspect from any or all the Bidders. However, that would not entitle

the Bidder to change or cause any change in the substance of the RFP submitted or

price quoted.

2.24.7.2 Bidder shall satisfy all criteria of prequalification provided in section 2.25 & 2.26 to clear

first stage of evaluation and to be considered for technical evaluation

2.24.8 Substantially Responsive Bids

2.24.8.1 A substantially responsive Bid is one, which conforms to all the requirements, terms,

conditions and specifications of the Request for Proposal.

2.24.8.2 Any attempt by a Bidder to influence it’s the bid evaluation process may result in the

rejection of the Bidder's Bid.

Each of the responses shall be evaluated as per the criterions and requirements specified in

this RFP. The evaluation stages are as follows: -

2.24.9 Stage 1: Prequalification Evaluation & Technical Evaluation

2.24.9.1 IRCTC will first evaluate the Pre-Qualification Bids & Technical Bids as per the Pre-

Qualification Criteria detailed in clause 2.25 & 2.26 of this Section. IRCTC shall evaluate

the bids based on bidders responsiveness to the Terms of Reference and by applying

the evaluation criteria specified in the document. Whenever it deemed necessary,

IRCTC may require written clarifications from the bidders to clarify ambiguities and

uncertainties arising out of the evaluation of the bid documents. The Technical Bids will

be evaluated based on criteria mentioned in clause 2.25 & 2.26 of this section of RFP.

2.24.9.2 Tender Committee shall have no access to the Financial Bids until Pre-Qualification

evaluation & Technical Evaluation is concluded and the IRCTC competent authority

accepts the tender recommendation recommendations.

2.24.9.3 Only those Bidders who qualify at this stage shall be considered for next stage i.e.

financial evaluation.

2.24.9.4 Bidders, whose bids are responsive, based on the technical evaluation criteria and score

a minimum of 70% of total marks (minimum marks to obtain for technically qualifying)

and which have a minimum score of 70% in each section of the technical criteria from the

technical evaluation criteria would be considered technically qualified and will be

considered for opening of their Financial Bid and evaluation thereof.

2.24.9.5 In case of no response by the Bidder to any of the requirements regarding the contents

of the Technical Bid, no marks will be assigned for the same


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2.24.9.6 Technical bid of the Bidder shall be opened and evaluated for acceptability of Techno-

functional requirements, deviations and technical suitability. Bidders shall respond to the

requirements as explained below for their evaluation regarding experience and

qualification. Also, Bidder shall refer and respond to ALL technical requirements as

mentioned in the RFP document

2.24.10 Stage 2: Financial Evaluation

2.24.10.1 Tender Opening Committee will open the Financial Bids of only Technically Qualified

Bidders, in the presence of the representatives of the Bidder who choose to attend, at

the time, date and place, as decided by the Purchaser.

2.24.10.2 The Lowest Cost based system (L1) shall be followed to evaluate the bids, i.e. after

technical score of 70% and above, all the bidders will be treated alike and the bidder with

the lowest commercial bid will be awarded the contract.

2.24.10.3 If there is a discrepancy between words and figures, the amount in words will prevail.

2.24.10.4 The financial bids submitted by the bidders will remain valid for One hundred and eighty

(180) days from the due date of submission of the bid.

2.24.10.5 The date and time of opening of the Financial Bid shall be intimated to the

shortlisted Bidders and shall be opened at such appointed date and time in the

presence of those bidders or their representatives who choose to be present

2.24.10.6 In case, two bidders bid for same value then the Indian based bidder will be given

the preference under “Make in India”.

2.24.10.7 In case, two bidders bid for same value and both are India based then the bidder

scoring more numbers in the technical evaluation will be given the preference. In

case the technical marks also are the same then the bidder having the maximum

experience in similar field will be given the preference. Therefore, bidder is expected

to mention complete experience in respective annexure.

2.24.10.8 GST as applicable will be charged/paid extra and shall be applied as per above

criteria.

2.24.10.9 In case of extension of the contact also, revenue will be calculated as per the same

terms and condition of the tender document.

2.24.10.10 After determining the successful bidder, IRCTC shall issue a Letter of Award (LOA).

The successful bidder shall submit letter of acceptance along with Security Deposit

within the period as specified by IRCTC. In case bidder fails to accept the offer of

award of contract, the firm will be debarred for 01-year for participating in all future

tender of IRCTC. After one year, offer of the defaulting firm will only be considered

on submission of EMD.

2.24.10.11 IRCTC shall not be liable for any mistake or error or neglect by the bidder in respect

of the above.

2.24.10.12 No bid shall be modified or withdrawn by the bidder after the bid submission date.

Withdrawal of a bid during the interval between bid submission date and expiration

of the bid validity period.

2.24.10.13 If it is discovered at any point of time that the bidder has suppressed any fact or

given a false statement or has done misrepresentation or fraud or has violated any

of the terms of this bid, the bid will be cancelled by the IRCTC. In such an event, the

bidder will not be entitled to any compensation whatsoever, or refund of any other

amount paid by him.


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2.25 Prequalification Evaluation Criteria

2.25.1 Bidder should qualify for all parameters listed below:

S.no Parameter Qualifying Criteria Credentials to be

Required

Applicability

1. Company

Existence

The Bidder should be a

company/ MNC/

Government/ Private/

Joint Venture company

delivering marketing

solutions registered in

India under companies

Act 1956, or the

Companies Act,2013 (as

amended till date) or The

Limited Liability

Partnership Act,2008 (as

amended till date), as

applicable .

Copy of Certificate of

Incorporation, and

Certificate consequent

to change of name, if

applicable.

In case of partnership

company – Registered

Partnership Deed

Bidder refers to Single

Bidder

Or

Primary/ lead bidder in

case of JV

2. Corporate

PAN

Number

and GST

Number

The bidder should provide

IRCTC with Company

PAN number and GST

Number or its equivalent

registered number

relevant in their country

where the company

registered.

1. Copy of PAN

number allotted by

Income Tax

Department.

Or Taxpayer

Identification

Number

Registration

Certificate copy

issued by Income

Tax Department or

both.

2. GST Number

issued by

Government/Tax

Department.


Bidder

Or

All members of JV

3. Call Centre

Experience

The Bidder shall have

been in Call Centre

Operations for at least 5

years as on date of

invitation of bids. In case

the current Bidder

company is the result of a

merger / acquisition, at

least one of the merging

companies shall have

been in Call Centre

Operations operation for

at least 5 years as on date

of invitation of bids.

1. Any associated

document or

undertaking

specifying the

details of the

customer care

services

implemented for

clients clearly

specifying Call/

SMS handling

capacity (signed

by authorized

signatory of the

company/CA/CS)

2. Work

Order/Invoice

Prime Bidder/

Single Bidder/ JV

Member


Page 28 of 191


Required

Applicability

Copy/ Client

Certificate

3. For Start-up/

MSME, an affidavit

to certify their

technical capability

to fulfil Call/SMS

handling capacity

4. Turnover Bidder must have

minimum average annual

financial turnover (i.e.

Gross transaction value)

for over INR 84 Cr (Rupee

Fifty Cr Only) in previous

3 financial years (F.Y.

2019-20, F.Y. 2018-19,

F.Y. 2017-18).

Relaxation for MSE/

Startups Only:

Bidder must have

minimum average annual

financial turnover (i.e.

Gross transaction value)

for over INR 21 Cr in

previous 3 financial years

(F.Y. 2019-20, F.Y. 2018-

19, F.Y. 2017-18).

Audited Annual reports/

Profit & Loss Statement

clearly specifying the

Annual Turnover or

Chartered Accountant

Certificate clearly

stating the turnover of

previous three F.Y.

2017-18, 2018-19 &

2019-20


Bidder

Or


case of JV

5. Relevant

Project

experience

The Bidder should have

relevant experience in

India in providing

customer contact centre

services

a) At least one (1) such

project having minimum

monthly call and SMS

handling capacity as

mentioned below

Monthly Call handling

Capacity - 60 lakhs

(Sixty Lakhs Only)

per month and,

Monthly SMS

handling Capacity -

36 lakhs (Thirty-Six

Lakhs Only) per

month.

Or

b) At least Two (2) such

1. Any associated

document or

undertaking

specifying the

details of the

customer care

services

implemented for

clients clearly

specifying Call/ SMS

handling capacity

(signed by

authorized signatory

of the

company/CA/CS)

2. Work Order/Invoice

Copy/ Client

Certificate

3. For Start-up/ MSME,

an affidavit to certify

their technical

capability to fulfil

Call/SMS handling

capacity.

Prime Bidder/ Single

Bidder/ JV Member


Page 29 of 191


Required

Applicability

projects having minimum



mentioned below


Capacity - 38 lakhs

(Thirty-Eight Lakhs

Only) per month and,

Monthly SMS

handling Capacity -

23 lakhs (Twenty-

three Lakhs Only) per

month.

Or

c) At least Three (3) such

projects having minimum



mentioned below


Capacity - 30 lakhs

(Thirty Lakhs Only)

per month and,

Monthly SMS

handling Capacity -

18 lakhs (Eighteen

Lakhs Only) per

month.

6. Technical

Support

Bidder should have a

dedicated support team

for customer care services

on optimum basis to

handle all types of issues

(technical and non-

technical) encountered

during the lifetime of

project.

An undertaking in the

letter head of the bidder

to provide a dedicated

support team to handle

technical and non-

technical issues


Bidder/ JV Member


Page 30 of 191


Required

Applicability

7.

No

fraudulent

practices or

blacklisting

The bidder should not be

currently blacklisted or

have appeared their name

in the negative / black list

of any public sector

undertaking /Government

organization from the last

three years to the date of

opening of the bid for any

breach of applicable laws

or violation of regulatory

prescriptions or breach of

agreement.

The bidder should not

have been defaulted on

any bank/ financial

institute.

Declaration to be given

by bidder’s authorized

signatory in the letter

head of the bidder

All Members

8. Start-Up

India/

MSME

Relaxation

In case the bidder is Start-

up company under Govt.

of India “Start Up”

Initiative or MSE and is

not able to meet criteria

prior turnover

For Start Up: Copy of

valid certificate of

recognition as Start Up

from Department of

Industrial Policy and

Promotion (DIPP),

Ministry of commerce

and Industry

For MSE; Copy of Valid

SSI/MSE registration

certificate with items

mentioned in the

registration certificate

from the concerned

registration authority


Bidder

Or


case of JV

9. Minimum

call centre

agents

The Bidder shall have at

least 250 agents

employed in delivering in-

bound Call centre services

as on date of invitation of

bids.

Certificate from the

Bidder’s HR head (on a

company letterhead)

and signed by

authorized signatory of

the company/CA/CS)


Bidder/ JV Member


Page 31 of 191


Required

Applicability

10. Licensed

Call Centre

The Bidder or its wholly

owned subsidiary

providing BPO/Call Centre

services or the parent

company of whom the

Bidder is a wholly owned

subsidiary providing

BPO/Call Centre services,

shall have registered itself

with Department of

Telecommunication (DoT).

Copy of DOT/TRAI

certificate/ License for

the proposed sites.


Bidder/ JV Member

11. Multiple

language

support call

centre

The Bidder shall have

demonstrated capability of

serving customers in

Hindi, English, and at

least four of the required

vernacular languages -

Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam,

Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali,

Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi,

Assamese, Urdu. Total

calls handled in the four

vernacular languages

combined should be

minimum 500 per month.

Certificate from the

Bidder’s HR head (on a

company letterhead)

and signed by

authorized signatory of

the company/CA/CS)


Bidder/ JV Member

12. Meity

Empanelled

Cloud

Service

Provider

CSP participating in this

tender must be Meity

empanelled for DC and

DR services and STQC

audited

Authorisation Letter

from CSP

Meity Empanelment

letter of that CSP

Cloud Service

Provider

2.25.2 Please note that on-going projects are allowed under this criterion provided the bidder has

completed at least one phase in the project and submitted the certificate in this regard issued

by client.

2.25.3 Bidder is required to generate Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) for all kind of

certifications, GST and Tax Audit Reports and other proofs as per the RFP requirement which

are to be undertaken/ signed by member of ICAI/CA

2.25.4 Please note the bidders can showcase the experience of their parent company provided the

parent company gives an undertaking that it shall support the bidding entity during the

execution of the project.

Page 32 of 191

2.26 Technical Evaluation Criteria

2.26.1 Technical Evaluation: The Technical Bid Evaluation will be performed as:

The eligible bidders as per eligibility criteria shall be evaluated based on the analysis of their business plans, team skills, and experience in the

Contact centre business, organizational experience and other detailed criteria as follows:

S. No Description Marks Documentary Evidences Applicability

1 Experience of the

Bidder 40 Marks

a. Experience of

managing large scale

Contact centres

Operations in India with

200 or more calling

agents per project

15 marks

Copy of work order + Completion

Certificates/Operational Certificates

from the client;

OR

Copy of Work Order + Self

Certificate of

Completion/Operational (Certified

by CS/independent auditor of the

bidding entity);

Prime Bidder/ Single Bidder/ JV

Member 3 or more projects 15 marks

2 projects 10 marks

1 project 5 mark

0-1 project 0 mark

b. Experience of

managing Contact

centres Operations for

government or public

sector agency in India

10 marks



from the client;

OR Copy of Work Order + Self Certificate

of Completion/Operational (Certified by

CS/independent auditor of the bidding


Member

6 or more projects 10 marks

4-5 project 7 marks


Page 33 of 191


2-3 projects 5 marks

entity);

0-1 project 0 mark

c. Experience of

managing at least one

Cloud based contact

centre technology in

India

5 marks



from the client;

OR Copy of Work Order + Self Certificate

of Completion/Operational (Certified by

CS/independent auditor of the bidding

entity);


Member

d. Experience of

managing at least two

contact centre projects

handling inbound calls

in at least four regional

languages (other than

English & Hindi).

5 marks

Self-Certified dashboard report signed

from HR head of the bidder


Member

e. The bidder should have

ISO 27001:2013 and ISO

9001:2008 (or above)

certifications valid at

the time of bid

submission.

5 Marks Copy of the Certificates


Member

2 Team Skills: Evaluation of Bidder’s proposed

10 Marks


Page 34 of 191


team for this engagement

a. Project Manager (1

resource) 3 marks

Curriculum vitae of each team

member for evaluation as per

Clause 5.7 in Section IV of the RFP


Member

Total relevant

experience >10 years Mandatory

MBA/PGDBA or similar

Post Graduate Degree Mandatory

Experience of Managing

contact centre

engagement having

monthly call volumes

Project with average call volume

greater than 30 lacs - 2 Marks


greater than 20 lacs - 1 marks

PMP/PRINCE2/ITIL or

relevant certificate 1 Mark

b. Team Lead (2 marks X

2 resources) 2 marks

Curriculum vitae of each team member

for evaluation as per Clause 5.7 in

Section IV of the RFP


Member

Total relevant

experience > 8 years Mandatory

Graduate degree or

higher Mandatory

Experience of Managing

similar scale contact

centre engagement

having monthly call


greater than 10 lacs - 1 Marks



Page 35 of 191


volumes greater than 5 lacs – 0.5 marks

c. Solution Architect (1

resource) 5 marks

Curriculum vitae of each team member

for evaluation as per Clause 5.7 in

Section IV of the RFP


Member

Total relevant

experience >= 7 years Mandatory

B-Tech/BE (Computer

Science. Information

Technology or

equivalent)

Mandatory

Prior experience in

designing solution of

contact centre

operations

More than 3 Projects -2 marks

2-3 Projects -1 mark

0-1 Project – 0 mark

Experience as Cloud

architect for designing

solution of contact

centre operations

1 or more projects - 2 marks

0 Project – 0 Mark

Experience of working

with railways (India or

Global) with

understanding of

different Railways IT

systems

2-3 Projects -1 mark

0-1 Project – 0 mark

3 Feedback from Reference Site

30 Marks


Page 36 of 191


The Bidder is required to

provide recommendations

from existing Customers

with Officials Names,

Designations, Mobile

Numbers, email Id’s and

Office Addresses for

reference sites as per the

following requirements:

Site where the bidder is

providing atleast four of the

below services for Call

Centre operations, for the

following services,

a) Inbound call handling for

queries/ requests/

complaints handling

through contact centre

agents

b) IVRS, which is currently

handling inbound calls

c) Call Centre Solution is

deployed on the cloud

d) Call Centre Solution is

utilizing any of the

emerging technologies

like Analytics, Voice

Biometrics. blockchain,

More than 3 Projects -30 marks

2-3 Projects – 20 marks

1 Project – 10 marks

Client Certificate with Officials

Names, Designations, Mobile

Numbers, email Id’s and Office

Addresses for reference sites as

per the described requirements

And Work Order/ Purchase Order

for reference


Member


Page 37 of 191


Chatbots, Voice bots.

e) Handling average call

volume greater than 10

lacs per month

IRCTC may visit or contact

the same and any

discrepancy between stated

capacity/capabilities and site

verification may result in

disqualification.

4 Transition and Exit Management Plan

5 Marks

Detailed Transition and Exit

Management plan. To

include:

a) Comprehensiveness of

scope of work

b) Phase wise Exit

Management plan over a

period of 3 months of

undisrupted operations

c) Knowledge sharing

d) Complete data sharing

e) Integration of current

IRCTC/CRIS systems

with Contact Centre

5 Marks

Transition and Exit Management

Plan Paper as the part of Technical

Proposal


Member


Page 38 of 191


solution on cloud

5 Methodology and Work plan

15 Marks

Assessment of the overall

approach and the

methodologies for

implementation of project

2 marks

Approach & Methodology Paper as

part of Technical Proposal


Member

Work plan: Proposed

project work plan which

would ensure smooth

transition from present state

to desired state

1 mark

Proposed Solution:

Solution details including

proposed technology

solution, any other solution

component required to meet

functional and technical

requirements

2 marks

New Technologies@ viz.

Dynamic IVRS giving

approximate call wait time,

and queue time. Recording

of calls for Quality

Assessment other innovative

systems to enhance

efficiency and

responsiveness of the FTAs

without any additional cost

3 marks


Page 39 of 191


Technical Innovation: Key

differentiators / value-add

presented by the bidder in

terms of introduction of

cutting-edge emerging

technologies like predictive

analytics, voice biometrics,

Cognitive, AI, Chatbots etc.

3 marks

Data security and

confidentiality proposed

process

3 mark

Continuous Improvement

plan 1 mark

Total marks 100

RFP for Selection of Managed Service Partner (MSP) for Integrated Railways Helpline& Enquiry System -139

Page 40 of 191

The maximum marks shall be 100 and those bidders scoring 70 marks and above shall

qualify for the next stage.

2.26.2 Self-certificate certified by Company Secretary is allowed as a valid proof to be showcased for

qualifying in the technical evaluation criteria

2.26.3 Please note the bidders can showcase the experience of their parent company provided the

parent company gives an undertaking that it shall support the bidding entity during the

execution of the project.

2.27 Financial Evaluation Criteria

The financial evaluation will be based firstly on the following criteria: Out of the above

qualified Technical Bids, the bidder will be evaluated based on the following:

2.27.1.1 The Bid Value is calculated on per call rate quoted by the bidder

2.27.1.2 The bidders will be paid or pay to IRCTC on actual number of calls on quarterly basis.

2.27.1.3 If bid value is in negative numbers, then Bidder will pay the five-year fee to IRCTC on

quarterly basis till 5 years

(Per quarter fee = Cost of actual number of calls in a quarter)

OR If bid value is in positive numbers, then IRCTC will pay the five-year fee to Bidder on

quarterly basis till 5 years.

(Per quarter fee = Cost of actual number of calls in a quarter)

2.27.1.4 If IRCTC does not receive any positive bids and all bids are received in negative

number, bidders will be evaluated based on highest bid value and ranked as H1, H2,

H3, etc. based on their Bid Value and H1 will win the tender.

Or

If IRCTC does not receive any negative bids and all bids are received in positive

numbers, then the bidder will be evaluated based on the lowest bid value to IRCTC

bidders will be ranked as L1, L2, L3, etc. based on their Bid Value and L1 will win the

tender.

Or

If IRCTC receive both positive as well as negative bids, then bidders with negative quote

will be evaluated based on highest bid value and ranked as H1, H2, H3, etc. and

bidders with positive bid will be evaluated based on the lowest bid value and will be

ranked as L1, L2, L3, etc. based on their Bid Value and H1 will win the tender

2.28 Post Qualification and Award Criteria

2.28.1 This determination will consider the Bidder's financial, technical, implementation and post-

implementation strengths and capabilities. It will also include examination of the documentary

evidence submitted by the Bidder as part of the bid as well as such other information as the

Purchaser deems necessary and appropriate.

2.28.2 An affirmative determination will be a prerequisite for award of the Contract to the Bidder. A

negative determination will result in rejection of the Bidder's bid, in which event; the Purchaser

will proceed to the next best evaluated bid to make a similar determination of that Bidder's

capabilities to perform satisfactorily.


Page 41 of 191

2.28.3 IRCTC is not bound to accept the best evaluated bid or any bid and reserves the right to

accept any bid, wholly or in part.

2.28.4 The data submitted by the successful bidder, in compliance of the above qualification Criteria

shall be subject to verifications by IRCTC itself or through an agency (expert in forensic audit)

appointed by IRCTC, for which all necessary documents shall have to be essentially provided

by the bidder, if so required. If the successful bidder is found to be ineligible on such

verification, the letter of award will be terminated along with forfeiture of Security Deposit. In

such eventuality the successful bidder will also be debarred for 3 years from participating in

the future projects of IRCTC.

2.29 Purchaser's Right to Accept Any Bid and to Reject Any or All Bids

2.29.1 The Purchaser reserves the right to accept any bid, and to annul the tender process and

reject all bids at any time prior to award of Contract, without thereby incurring any liability to

the affected Bidder (s) or any obligation to inform the affected Bidder (s) of the grounds for the

Purchaser's action.

2.30 Notification of Award

2.30.1 Prior to the expiration of the period of bid validity, pursuant to Clause 2.15, the Purchaser will

notify the successful Bidder in writing that its bid has been accepted. The Bidder shall provide

his acceptance within specific period mentioned by Purchaser.

2.30.2 The notification of award will constitute the formation of the Contract.

2.31 Security Deposit

2.31.1 Within 30 days of the receipt of notification of award/ Letter of Intent (LoI) from the Purchaser,

the successful Bidder shall furnish the Security Deposit of INR 1,66,60,000 in accordance

with the Conditions of Contract, in the Security Deposit prescribed at Clause 5.18 of Section 4

of this RFP given by any scheduled bank.

2.31.2 Security Deposit shall be valid for six months more than the period of the contract.

2.31.3 No interest shall be paid on the deposited security money.

2.32 Signing of Contract

2.32.1 The successful Bidder shall sign the contract with GGM/IT/IRCTC within 30 days of

submission of Security Deposit.

2.33 Rejection Criteria

2.33.1 Besides other conditions and terms highlighted in the RFP document, bids may be rejected

under following circumstances:

2.33.2 General Rejection Criteria

2.33.2.1 Bids submitted without or improper bid securing declaration (EMD performa)

2.33.2.2 Bids not submitted over IRCTC tender wizard.

2.33.2.3 Bids received through Only Offline / Telex / Telegraphic / Fax / e-Mail

2.33.2.4 Bids which do not confirm unconditional validity of the bid as prescribed in the RFP

2.33.2.5 If the information provided by the Bidder is found to be incorrect / misleading at any

stage / time during the Tendering Process

2.33.2.6 Any effort on the part of a Bidder to influence the Purchaser’s bid evaluation, bid

comparison or contract award decisions


Page 42 of 191

2.33.2.7 Bids received by the Purchaser after the last date and time for receipt of bids prescribed

by the Purchaser, pursuant to Data Sheet in Section 1.

2.33.2.8 Bids without power of attorney and any other document consisting of adequate proof of

the ability of the signatory to bind the Bidder

2.33.2.9 Bids without an undertaking of having understood the provision of the RFP fully.

2.33.2.10 Bids received without Integrity Pact duly filled-in and signed by the bidder.

2.33.2.11 Revelation of prices by the bidder in any form or by any reason, for example by

indicating in Technical Bid packet, before opening the Financial Bid.

2.33.2.12 Financial bids that do not conform to the E-Tender Schedule

2.33.2.13 Information submitted in bid is found to be misrepresented, incorrect or false,

accidentally, unwittingly or otherwise, at any time during the processing of the contract

(no matter at what stage) or during the tenure of the contract including the extension

period if any.

2.33.3 Prequalification/ Technical Rejection Criteria

2.33.3.1 Technical Bid containing financial details.

2.33.3.2 Revelation of prices in any form or by any reason before opening the Financial Bid

2.33.3.3 Failure to furnish all information required by the RFP Document or submission of a bid

not substantially responsive to the RFP Document in every respect.

2.33.3.4 Bidders not responding to the complete eligibility criteria and scope of work as indicated

in the RFP documents, addendum (if any) and any subsequent information given to the

Bidder.

2.33.3.5 If the bid does not conform to the timelines indicated in the bid.

2.33.4 Financial Rejection Criteria

2.33.4.1 Incomplete Price Bid

2.33.4.2 Price Bids that do not conform to the RFP’s price bid format.

2.33.4.3 If there is an arithmetic discrepancy in the Financial Bid calculations the Purchaser shall

rectify the same. If the Bidder does not accept the correction of the errors, bid may be

rejected.

2.34 Benefits to Registered SSI/MSEs firms

2.34.1 Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) vide letter no. 21(1)2011-MA

dated 25.04.2012 has notified a new Public Procurement policy for the Micro and Small

Enterprises (MSEs) who are registered with

(i) District Industries Centers or

(ii) Khadi and Village Industries Commission or

(iii) Khadi and Village Industries Board or

(iv) Coir Board or

(v) National Small Industries Corporation or

(vi) Directorate of Handicraft and Handloom or

(vii) any other body specified by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

(viii) With effect from 18.09.2015, MSEs registered under Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum

(UAM) are also eligible to avail the benefits under this policy.

2.34.2 Following benefits are available to such MSEs under this policy:


Page 43 of 191

(i) Issue of Tender document free of cost,

(ii) Exemption from payment of Earnest Money,

(iii) Relaxation in Prior Experience and Prior Turnover

a. Further, in case of tenders where splitting of quantity is possible, participating Micro and Small

Enterprises quoting prices within in price band of L1 + 15% shall be allowed to supply a portion

of requirements by bringing down their price to L1 price in a situation where L1 price is from

someone other than a Micro and Small Enterprises and such Micro and Small Enterprises can

be together ordered up to 25% of the total tendered quantity. In case of more than one such

MSE, the supply will be shared proportionately (to tendered quantity).

b. Special provisions for SSI/MSEs owned by Scheduled Castes or Schedule Tribes and Women:

Out of the 25% quantity of this E-Tender for SSI/MSEs a sub target of 4% quantity of this e-

tender is earmarked for procurement from SSI/MSEs owned by the Scheduled Castes or the

Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs and 3% SSI/MSEs owned by woman entrepreneurs, provided

that, in event of failure of such Micros and Small Enterprises to participate in E-Tender process

or meet E-Tender requirements and L1 price, 4% sub target for procurement earmarked for

SSI/MSEs owned by Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs shall be met

from other registered SSI/MSEs.

c. MSEs registered with any of the above agencies for the tendered item shall be exempted from

payment of Earnest Money.

d. MSEs interested in availing themselves of these benefits must enclose, along with their offer, a

copy of proof of their registration with any of the above mentioned agencies and also indicate

the terminal validity date of their registration.

e. The registration certificate should also include information about the status in regard to their

category i.e., the ownership MSE pertains to SC/ST/Other category clearly. Absence of any

such information in the registration certificate would be taken as MSE failing in the category as

“others”.

f. The SSI/MSE who have availed the benefit of exemption of Earnest Money will not be allowed

to withdraw their offer during the currency of the validity of offer or extended validity, firm will be

debarred for 01-year for participating in all future tender of IRCTC. After one year, offer of the

defaulting firm will only be considered on submission of EMD.

Note : The bidders must note that –

(A) The benefits as specified above shall be available to MSEs only for Goods produced and

Services rendered by MSEs. Policy is meant for procurement of goods produced and services

rendered by MSEs. Decision of IRCTC in this regard shall be final and binding.

(B) Above clause 2.34.2(a) and 2.34.2(b) above shall not be applicable for this tender as the

quantities under this tender cannot be split.

2.34.3 Relaxed Norms for DIPP registered Startups (Prior experience criteria and

financial criteria)

Following benefits as available to MSMEs will also be available for Startups as recognized by

Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GOI.

(i) Issue of Tender document free of cost,

(ii) Exemption from payment of Earnest Money,

(iii) Relaxation in Prior Experience and Prior Turnover

Note: Startups who have availed the benefit of exemption of Earnest Money will not be allowed

to withdraw their offer during the currency of the validity of offer or extended validity, firm will be

debarred for 01-year for participating in all future tender of IRCTC. After one year, offer of the


Page 44 of 191

defaulting firm will only be considered on submission of EMD.

2.35 Restrictions under Rule 144 (xi) of the General Financial Rules (GFRs), 2017.

2.35.1 Any bidder from a country which shares a land border with India will be eligible to bid only if

the bidder is registered with the Competent Authority, specified in Annexure-D

2.35.2 "Bidder' (including the term 'tenderer', 'consultant' 'vendor' or 'Service provider in certain

contexts) means any person or firm or company, participating in a procurement process.

2.35.3 "Bidder from a country which shares a land border with India" for the purpose of this Order

means

a) An entity incorporated, established or registered in such a country; or

b) A subsidiary of an entity incorporated, established or registered in such a country; or

c) An entity substantially controlled through entities incorporated, established or registered in such a

country; or

d) An entity whose beneficial owner is situated in such a country; or

e) An Indian (or other) agent of such an entity; or

f) A natural person who is a citizen of such a country; or

2.35.4 "Beneficial owner'' for the purpose of paragraph 2.35.3 above will be as under:

(i) In case of a company or Limited Liability Partnership, the beneficial owner is the natural person(s),

who, whether acting alone or together, or through one or more juridical person(s), has a controlling

ownership interest or who exercises control through other means.

Explanation—

a. "Controlling ownership interest" means ownership of, or entitlement to, more than twenty-five per

cent of shares or capital or profits of the company;

b. "Control" shall include the right to appoint the majority of the directors or to control the management

or policy decisions, including by virtue of their shareholding or management rights or shareholders

agreements or voting agreements;

(ii) In case of a partnership firm, the beneficial owner is the natural person(s) who, whether acting

alone or together, or through one or more juridical person, has ownership of entitlement to more than

fifteen percent of capital or profits of the partnership;

(iii) In case of an unincorporated association or body of individuals, the beneficial owner is the natural

person(s), who, whether acting alone or together, . or through one or more juridical person, has

ownership of or entitlement to more than fifteen percent of the property or capital or profits of such

association or body of individuals;

(iv) Where no natural person is identified under (i) or (ii) or (iii) above, the beneficial owner is the

relevant natural person who holds the position of senior managing official;

(v) In case of a trust, the identification of beneficial owner(s) shall include identification of the author of

the trust, the trustee, the beneficiaries with fifteen percent or more interest in the trust and any other

natural person exercising ultimate effective control over the trust through a chain of control or

ownership.

2.35.5 "Agent" for the purpose of this Order is a person employed to do any act for another, or to

represent another in dealings with third persons.

2.35.6 The successful bidder shall not be allowed to sub-contract works to any contractor from a

country which shares a land border with India unless such contractor is registered with the Competent

Authority.

2.35.7 Bidder must submit a certificate (Declaration as under in the company letter head ) in this

regard along with bid for compliance of OM of MoE dated 23.07.2020 considering latest amendment,

If such certificate given by a bidder whose bid is accepted is found to be false, this would be a ground


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for immediate termination and further legal action in accordance with law. Non-submission of

Certificate may lead to summarily rejection of offer.

Certificate for Compliance to OM of MoE dated 23.07.2020

(To be submitted on the letterhead of the Applicant/ Bidder)

"I/We have read the clause regarding restrictions on procurement from a bidder of a country which

shares a land border with India and on sub-contracting to contractors from such countries.

(a) I certify that M/s_____________________ (name of Bidder) is not from such a country and will not sub-contract any work to a contractor from such countries unless such contractor is registered with the Competent Authority. I also certify that M/s________________will not offer any products/services of entity from such countries unless such entity is registered with the Competent Authority. Or (b) I certify that M/s_____________________ (name of Bidder) is from such a country and has been registered with the Competent Authority. I also certify that M/s________________has products/services of entity from such countries and these entity/entities are also registered with the Competent Authority. I also certify that M/s_____________________has sub-contracted some work to a contractor from such countries and that such contractor is registered with the Competent Authority. | hereby certify that M/s_______________________(name of Bidder) fulfills all requirements in this regard and is eligible to be considered. I hereby acknowledge that in the event of acceptance of my bid on above certificate and if the certificate is found to be false at any stage, the false certificate would be a ground for immediate termination of contract and further legal action in accordance with the Law. (Signature & Name of Authorized person of the Bidder) Name & address of the Bidder with stamp Note: 1. Give certificate for either (a) or (b) and strike out whatever is not applicable either in (a) or (b) 2. Where applicable, evidence of valid registration by the Competent Authority shall be attached/ uploaded alongwith the bid/offer 3. Bidders are advised to attach/upload the certificate duly signed by authorized person of the Bidder and duly stamped alongwith their Bid/Offer

2.35.8 Validity of registration by Competent Authority:

In respect of tenders, registration should be valid at the time of submission of bids and at the time of

acceptance of bids. In respect of supply otherwise than by tender, registration should be valid at the

time of placement of order. If the bidder was validly registered at the time of acceptance placement of

order, registration shall not be a relevant consideration during contract execution.

2.35.9 Notwithstanding above, the terms & conditions mentioned above will not apply to bidders from

those countries (even if sharing a land border with India) to which the Government of India has

extended lines of credit or in which the Government of India is engaged in development projects.

Annexure -D

Competent Authority and Procedure for Registration

A. The Competent Authority for the purpose of registration under this Order shall be the Registration

Committee constituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)*.

B. The Registration Committee shall have the following members*:


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i) An officer, not below the rank of Joint Secretary, designated for this purpose by DPIIT, who shall be

the Chairman;

ii) Officers (ordinarily not below the rank of Joint Secretary) representing the Ministry of Home Affairs,

Ministry of External Affairs, and of those Departments whose sectors are covered by applications

under consideration;

iii) Any other officer whose presence is deemed necessary by the Chairman of the Committee.

C. DPIIT shall lay down the method of application, format etc. for such bidders as stated in Para 1 of

this Order.

D. On receipt of an application seeking registration from a bidder from a country covered by Para 1 of

this Order, the Competent Authority shall first seek political and security clearances from the Ministry

of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs, as per guidelines issued from time to time.

Registration shall not be given unless political and security clearance have both been received.

E. The Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs may issue guidelines for internal use

regarding the procedure for scrutiny of such applications by them.

F. The decision of the Competent Authority, to register such bidder may be for all kinds of tenders or

for a specified type(s) of goods or services, and may be for a specified or unspecified duration of time,

as deemed fit, The decision of the Competent Authority shall be final.

G. Registration shall not be granted unless the representatives of the Ministries of Home Affairs and

External Affairs on the Committee concur'.

H. Registration granted by the Competent Authority of the Government of India shall be valid not only

for procurement by Central Government and its agencies/ public enterprises etc. but also for

procurement by State Governments and their agencies! public enterprises etc. No fresh registration at

the State level shall be required.

I. The Competent Authority is empowered to cancel the registration already granted if it determines

that there is sufficient cause. Such cancellation by itself, however, will not affect the execution of

contracts already awarded. Pending cancellation, it may also suspend the registration of a bidder, and

the bidder shall not be eligible to bid in any further tenders during the period of suspension.

J. For national security reasons, the Competent Authority shall not be required to give reasons for

rejection / cancellation of registration of a bidder.

K. In transitional cases falling under Para 2.35 of this Order, where it is felt that it will not be

practicable to exclude bidders from a country which shares a land border with India, a reference

seeking permission to consider such bidders shall be made by the procuring entity to the Competent

Authority, giving full information and detailed reasons. The Competent Authority shall decide whether

such bidders may be considered, and if so shall follow the procedure laid down in the above Paras.

L. Periodic reports on the acceptance/ refusal of registration during the preceding period may be

required to be sent to the Cabinet Secretariat. Details will be issued separately in due course by

DPIIT,

[Note:

i. In respect of application of this Order to procurement by/ under State Governments, all functions

assigned to DPIIT shall be carried out by the State Government concerned through a specific

department or authority designated by it. The composition of the Registration Committee shall be as

decided by the State Government and paragraph G above shall not apply. However, the requirement

of political and security clearance as per pare D shall remain and no registration shall be granted

without such clearance.

Registration granted by State Governments shall be valid only for procurement by the State

Government and its agencies/ public enterprises etc. and shall not be valid for procurement in other

states or by the Government of India and their agencies/ public enterprises etc.]


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3 Section III: General Conditions of the Contract (GCC)

3.1 Definitions and Interpretations

In the Contract, unless the context otherwise requires.

Section III: General Conditions of the Contract


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3.1.1 “IRCTC” would mean the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd acting

through its concerns Group General Manager or any other representative authorized by him.

3.1.2 “Acceptance of Bid” means the letter/telex/telegram/fax or any memorandum

communicating to the bidder as the acceptance of his bid and includes an advance

acceptance of his bid.

3.1.3 Acceptance of the System means the system shall be deemed to have been accepted by

the IRCTC, subsequent to its installation and rollout, when all the activities as defined in

Scope of Work have been successfully executed and completed to the satisfaction of IRCTC.

3.1.4 Adverse means material adverse effect on:

the ability of the bidder to exercise any of its rights or perform/discharge any of its

duties/obligations under and in accordance with the provisions of the Contract Agreement

and/or

the legal validity, binding nature or enforceability of the Contract Agreement;

3.1.5 Applicable Law(s) means any statute, law, ordinance, notification, rule, regulation, judgment,

order, decree, bye-law, approval, directive, guideline, policy, requirement or other

governmental restriction or any similar form of decision applicable to the relevant party and as

may be in effect on the date of the execution of the Contract Agreement and during the

subsistence thereof, applicable to the Project;

3.1.6 “Contract” means and includes the invitation to bid, Instructions to Bidders, Acceptance of

Bid, Special Conditions of Contract and other conditions specified in the acceptance of bid

and includes a repeat order which has been accepted or acted upon by the contractor and a

formal agreement, if executed;

3.1.7 The “Contractor” or “Managed Service Partner (MSP)” or Call Centre Service Provider

(CCSP) means the person, firm, JV or company with whom the purchase order is placed and

shall be deemed to include the contractor’s successors (approved by the Purchaser),

representatives, heirs, executors, administrators and permitted assignees, as the case may

be, unless excluded by the terms of the contract. The terms “Contractor” and “Successful

Bidder” have been used interchangeably in this bid document.

3.1.8 “Purchasing Officer” means the officer signing the acceptance of bid and includes any

officer who has authority to execute the relevant contract on behalf of IRCTC.

3.1.9 The “Purchaser” or” Buyer” IRCTC or any representative authorized by IRCTC.

3.1.10 Bidder/ Tenderer: Shall mean a company/firm in its individual right or the legal member of

the JV.

3.1.11 “IRCTC Project Manager” means designated representative of IRCTC authorized as head of

concerned project and is authorized to take decisions on behalf of IRCTC in respect of project

implementation.

3.1.12 “Bidder’s Project Manager” means a designated representative of Bidder, who is

empowered by the authorized signatory of Bidder for delivering the contractual obligations

under this contract. He/she will be the one-point interface with IRCTC.

3.1.13 “Service” means a service to be given by contractor as stated in tender/contact details

i) In relation to Hardware, including networking equipment and infrastructure and office

machines

ii) In relation to manpower and Annual Maintenance and Operation Contract. iii) In relation to system/application software supplied by the bidder iv) Training v) Design, Development and support

3.1.14 “Personnel” means Staff, employees, agents, contractors and sub-contractors (if permitted

in tender) of either party and also includes the staff, employees, agents and contractors of

those subcontractors with qualification, experience and certification.

3.1.15 “Software” means system/ application software to be supplied by the contractor, as stated


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in the contact details.

3.1.16 “Specifications” means all the functional, operational, performance or other characteristics

required of a Product or Service found in tender document or any of the annexure or

addendum to the tender document.

3.1.17 Measurements and Arithmetic Conventions means all measurements and calculations

shall be in the metric system and calculations done to two decimal places, with the third digit

of five or above being rounded up and below five being rounded down except in money

calculations where such amounts shall be rounded off to the nearest INR.

3.1.18 Ambiguities within Agreement means in case of ambiguities or discrepancies within this

Agreement, the following principles shall apply:

I. as between two Clauses of this Agreement, the provisions of a specific Clause relevant to

the issue under consideration shall prevail over those in a general Clause;

II. as between the provisions of this Agreement and the Schedules/Annexure, the Agreement

shall prevail, save and except as expressly provided otherwise in the Agreement or the

Schedules/Annexures; and

III. as between any value written in numerals and that in words, the value in words shall prevail.

3.1.19 Priority of documents

3.1.19.1 This Agreement, including its Schedules and Annexures, represents the entire

agreement between the Parties as noted in this Clause. If in the event of a dispute as to

the interpretation or meaning of this Agreement it should be necessary for the Parties to

refer to documents forming part of the bidding process leading to this Agreement, then

such documents shall be relied upon and interpreted in the following descending order of

priority:

I. This Agreement along with

II. the SLA agreement,

III. NDA agreement,

IV. Schedules and Annexures;

V. the RFP along with subsequently issued corrigendum

VI. Technical and financial proposal submitted by the successful bidder, to the extent

they along with subsequently issued clarifications furnished by the Managed Service

Partners in response to the RFP, to the extent they are not inconsistent with any

terms of the RFP.

For the avoidance of doubt, it is expressly clarified that in the event of a conflict between

this Agreement, Annexures / Schedules or the contents of the RFP, the terms of this

Agreement shall prevail over the Annexures / Schedules and Annexures / Schedules

shall prevail over the contents and specifications of the RFP.

3.2 Authorized Signatory and address of the contractor

The Signatory of the tenderer should attach an authorization certificate mentioning:

3.2.1 The proprietor in case of “Sole Proprietor” firm or constituted attorney of such sole proprietor.

3.2.2 One of the partners in the case of a “Partnership” firm, in which case he must have authority

to refer to arbitration disputes concerning the business of the partnership either by virtue of

the partnership agreement or a power of attorney. In the absence of such authority all

partners should sign the Tender.

3.2.3 A director or the regional head in case of a limited company or an official of requisite authority

in the case of a government institution, duly authorized by a resolution of the board of

directors.

3.2.4 For all purpose of the contract, including arbitration thereafter, the address of the tenderer

mentioned in the tender shall be the address to which all communications shall be the

addressed.


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3.3 Qualification Criteria of Tenderer

(It is compulsory to enclose supporting documents without which the bid may be

disqualified)

3.3.1 In case of single or limited tenders, only tenderers who are specifically invited by IRCTC or

their authorized representative with their unconditional authorization in respect of complete

scope of work under this tender as per Performa given in Section IV, shall be eligible to

participate subject to fulfilment of special eligibility conditions laid down in the Special

Conditions given in this tender document.

3.3.2 Qualification criteria for advertised/open tenders shall be as stated in Tender Document.

3.4 JV bidders

3.4.1 Bids is submitted by a JV shall be acceptable if specifically permitted in Section II of the

Tender Document. In such cases, the lead partner/prime member of the JV should fulfil the

qualifying criteria given in para3.2 above.

3.4.2 A copy of the memorandum of formation of JV giving clear responsibilities of JV members,

duly signed by authorized signatories as defined in 3.2 above for each constituent member of

the JV, must be submitted along with the offer.

3.4.3 No change in the composition of JV shall be permitted up to finalization of the contract.

However, after acceptance of purchase order, if for reasons to be explained by the lead

partner/prime member to IRCTC, for which IRCTC will be at liberty to accept or reject, any

member of the JV is changed, a modified memorandum of formation of JV, duly signed by

authorized signatories of constituents shall be submitted by the lead partner while announcing

the change to IRCTC.

3.4.4 Notwithstanding any change in the composition of JV at post purchase order stage, complete

and total responsibility and liability for execution of the contract shall remain of the lead

partner.

3.5 Earnest Money Deposit

3.5.1 The EMD has been exempted due to current pandemic, however the bidder has to submit the

undertaking from the authorised signatory as per the Performa 5.12 Section-IV

3.6 Completion of Tender Documents

3.6.1 All columns of the technical specification’s compliance sheet must be filled. Any deviations

should be clearly indicated against individual line items. All rates in the Financial Bids should

be clearly filled. The rates must be in words and figures both. In case of any discrepancy unit

rate in words will take precedence.

3.6.2 The Purchaser will accept internationally accepted alternative specifications which ensure

equal or higher quality than the specifications mentioned in the Technical Specification except

where Make or brand is specified in the technical specifications. However, the decision of the

Purchaser in this regard shall be final. The Tenderer should also furnish “Statement of

Deviations” from tender specifications as per proforma given in Section IV of the tender

document along with the offer.

3.6.3 No alteration/cutting is permitted in the bid documents.

3.6.4 Tenderer shall submit all technical information and product brochures along with the techno-

commercial bid. The language of these documents must be English.

3.6.5 The tenderer should submit self-details as per proforma given in Section IV.

3.6.6 Tender documents with non-compliance of the above clauses are liable to be rejected.

3.7 Amendments to Bid Invitation

3.7.1 The purchaser reserves the right, to make revisions or amendments to the bid documents,

when deemed necessary, prior to the closing date of the bid, through proper notification or

website. The bidders must watch IRCTC web site for any such amendments. The purchaser

shall be at liberty to consider extending the date set for the bid opening by such a number of


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days as in the opinion of the purchaser will enable the bidders to revise their bids.

3.8 Clarifications, Omissions and Discrepancies in Tender Document

3.8.1 In case any bidder find any discrepancy or omission in the any part of the tender Document/or

he has any doubt to their meaning, he should notify the Purchaser minimum 7 days prior to

tender opening date who may clarify and send a written instruction to all bidders for

correction, if necessary. It, however, does not entitle the bidder to seek any extension of

tender opening date.

3.8.2 It shall be understood that every endeavour has been made to avoid any error which can

materially affect the basis of the bid and successful bidder shall take upon himself and

provide for the risk of any error which may subsequently be discovered and shall make no

subsequent claim on account thereof.

3.8.3 The submission of the tender will be deemed to imply that the Tenderer fully understands the

scope of work involved and has read and understood all conditions of the tender document

and his liabilities and responsibilities in respect of the tender.

3.9 Process to Be Confidential

3.9.1 After the public opening of bids, information relating to the examination, clarification,

evaluation and comparison of bids, and recommendations concerning the award of the

purchase order shall not be disclosed to the tenderer or other persons not officially concerned

with such process.

3.9.2 Any effort by the tenderer to influence the purchaser in the process of examination,

clarification, evaluation and comparison of bids, and in the decision concerning the contract,

may result in rejection of his bid.

3.10 Technical Clarifications

3.10.1 To assist in the examination, evaluation and comparison of bids, IRCTC may ask the tenderer

individually for a clarification on his bid including breakdowns of unit rates. The request for

clarification and the responses shall be in writing/fax but no change in price or substance shall

be sought, offered or permitted except as required to confirm the correction of arithmetical

errors discovered by IRCTC during the evaluation of bids. Such reply shall be given within the

time limit mentioned in the intimation issued by IRCTC, failing which IRCTC will be at liberty

to conclude that nothing further is to be submitted by the vendor on this matter.

3.10.2 The bidder should make available the offered products, if desired during evaluation of bids for

benchmarking of the application to ensure that there are no compatibility issues.

3.11 Validity

3.11.1 The validity of the bid must be for a minimum of 180 days from the last day of bid submission.

Any subsequent extension of validity shall be for minimum 60 days.

3.12 Right of Acceptance

3.12.1 IRCTC reserves the right to place order for a part item/combination of the quantity offered.

The unit rates offered by the tenderer shall be valid for any such part order. IRCTC reserves

the right to reject any or all tenders without assigning any reason to the tenderer. IRCTC may

call upon one or more tenderer for demonstration/testing of all or any quoted item at IRCTC

office.

3.13 Indemnities and Liabilities

3.13.1 The contractor shall indemnify and protect the purchaser from and against all actions, suits,

proceedings losses, costs, damages, charges, claims and demands of every nature and

description brought against or recovered from IRCTC/Railways by reasons of any act or

omission of the contractor, his agents or employees, in the execution of the works or in the

guarding of the same.

3.13.2 Total financial liabilities of the bidder arising out of breach of contractual obligations shall not


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exceed the value of contract and shall be limited to direct damages. However, any liabilities

arising out of breach of any obligation(s) commonly applicable in Indian or International law or

regulation or intellectual property right infringements etc shall not be limited by this agreement

and the bidder shall be solely and completely responsible for any such violation on his part.

3.14 Insurance

3.14.1 The purchaser shall not arrange for any ‘Transit Insurance’ and the Bidder will be responsible

till the entire goods contracted, arrive in good condition at destination site as mentioned in the

delivery schedule and the tenderer shall, at his own cost, unconditionally replace/rectify the

goods lost/damaged to the entire satisfaction of the consignee within 30 days from the date of

receipt of intimation from the consignee.

3.15 Local Conditions

3.15.1 It will be the sole responsibility of each bidder to fully acquaint him with all the local conditions

and factors, which could have any effect on the performance of the contract and/or the cost.

3.16 Prices

3.16.1 All Prices shall be in Indian Rupees and no foreign exchange/import license shall be provided.

However, Firm should explicitly indicate these charges in their offer. If offer is silent about the

above charges, then it will be presumed that prices are inclusive of these charges. However

bidder will have no right to demand and charges/additions to such charges as may be levied,

subsequent to opening of the bid.

3.16.2 In case of change in GST on account of change in rules/legislation by the Government, the

actual rates as applicable at the time of placement of order shall be payable only for taxes

which are clearly stated as percentages in the offer.

3.16.3 Quoted prices shall remain firm during the currency of contract and subsequent repeat order.

3.16.4 IRCTC reserves the right to place order for a part item/combination of the quantity offered.

The unit rates offered by the tenderer shall be valid for any such part order.

3.17 Price Fall

3.17.1 The prices charged for the goods/services supplied under the contract by the vendor shall at

no event exceed the lowest price at which the vendor sells the goods or offers to sell the

goods of identical description to any person/ organization including the purchaser or any

department of State/Central Government, as the case may be during the currency of the

contract.

3.17.2 If, at any time during the said period the vendor reduces the sale price, sells or offers to sell

such goods to any person/organization including the purchaser or any department of

State/Central Government as the case may be at a price lower than the price chargeable

under the contract, the vendor shall forthwith notify such reduction or sale or offer to sell to

the purchaser and the price payable under the order for supply of material after the date of

coming into force of such reduction or sale or offer to sell shall stand correspondingly

reduced.

3.17.3 The above clauses are applicable for Rate Contract Tender only and not for fixed quantity

tenders

3.18 Acceptance of Purchase Order

3.18.1 Prior to the expiry of bid validity, the successful bidder shall be notified by mail/fax/post.

Within 7 days or as mentioned in letter of the award of the contract the successful bidder shall

send his/her acceptance of the purchase order along with the agreement contract and will

submit the Security Deposit as per terms of tender/letter of award.

3.19 Delivery

3.19.1 Delivery time to supply the good to the consignees is stated in the Section V of the Tender


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Document.

3.19.2 The time for and the date specified in the contract or as extended for the delivery of the

material/services shall be deemed to be the essence of the contract and delivery must be

completed not later than the date(s) so specified or extended:

3.19.3 In case of failure by firm to supply the goods/services within the delivery period stated in the

purchase order, the Purchaser shall be at liberty to extend the delivery period on reasonable

ground for extension of time. Any failure or delay on the part of Sub-Contractor shall be the

sole responsibility of the bidder.

3.20 Liquidated Damages for Delay in Delivery

3.20.1 Any delay by the vendor in the performance of the delivery obligations shall render him/her

liable to any of the following penalties: -

i. In the event of tenderer failure in the Go Live of the operations with acceptable quality

and specifications within the original delivery period given in the purchase order, IRCTC

shall be liberty to recover liquidated damages to be levied @ 1% of the SD per week or

part thereof subject to a maximum of the value of SD.

ii. Encashment of the Security Deposit.

3.20.2 Liquidated damages shall be calculated on the total security deposit. The Go Live shall be

taken as complete only after the User Acceptance Testing.

3.20.3 After a delay of more than 8 weeks, IRCTC reserve the right to cancel the purchase order and

buy the items/ services from any other vendor, at bidder’s risk and cost. Any losses caused to

IRCTC on this account shall be recoverable from the bidder.

3.21 Information Ownership

3.21.1 All information processed, stored, or transmitted by Bidder equipment belongs to IRCTC. By

having the responsibility to maintain the equipment, the Bidder does not acquire implicit

access rights to the information or rights to redistribute the information. The Bidder

understands that civil, criminal, or administrative penalties may apply for failure to protect

information appropriately.

3.22 General Requirements

3.22.1 The tenderer must specify Item wise compliance to Technical specifications duly vetted by the

respective OEMs or supported by technical brochures, duly endorsed by OEMs, for the

offered products. The Model and Make of the offered product should be clearly specified.

3.22.2 No change of make or brand will be permitted after issue of purchase order. However, under

extra-ordinary circumstances, viz, closure of Bidder’s business, discontinuation of

brand/product in market, statutory ban on such brand/product, or Government legislation, the

contractor may request in writing to IRCTC, a change in make/brand explaining the reasons in

detail. The alternate brand should be at par or superior to the original offer and the contractor

shall provide unequivocal evidence for “Nil adverse price implication to the purchaser”. IRCTC

shall be at liberty to accept or reject such request without any impact on the contract

conditions.

3.22.3 The tenderer must pass on the standard OEMs’ warranty which comes bundled with the

purchased equipment wherever it is superior to the warranty specified in this tender

document.

3.22.4 The tenderer shall ensure availability of spare and software updates/patches for a period of at

least 05 years from the date of purchase order.

3.22.5 The tenderer along with OEM should make available the offered products, if desired during

technical evaluation of bid for testing and benchmarking at CRIS, New Delhi.

3.22.6 Tenderer has to provide documentary evidence for back-to-back support agreement with the

respective OEM along with the OEM.

3.22.7 The installation of the ordered Systems shall be carried out without disturbing the ongoing

working of the existing system.

3.22.8 Detailed designs and drawings required for installation of equipment and the scheme of layout


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and connections required shall be submitted by the tenderer along with his offer.

3.22.9 Obtaining of licenses in addition to the existing licenses or any other statutory requirement for

installation and working of all equipment shall be responsibility of the tenderer.

3.23 Security Deposit (PBG)

3.23.1 After receipt of purchase order the contractor shall furnish a Security Deposit (SD) from a

Nationalized bank or from a Commercial Bank duly counter-signed by the Reserve Bank of

India/State Bank of India, New Delhi or by any Nationalized Indian Bank as per proforma

attached (Section IV) within 30 days of issue of purchase order for an amount equivalent to

INR1, 66, 60,000.00. SD Bond (PBG) shall remain valid up to a period of 6 months, beyond

the contract period.

3.23.2 Beyond the last date of Warranty period for any goods supplied under the contract. In case of

extension of delivery period, or the warranty period on any account, the contractor shall

extend the period of SD Bond by an equivalent period.

3.23.3 The purchaser shall be entitled and it shall be lawful on his part to forfeit the amount of SD

Bond in whole or in part in the event of any default, failure or neglect on part of the contractor

in fulfilment or performance of the contract in all respect of the contract under reference or

any other contract with the purchaser or any part thereof to the satisfaction of the purchaser

and the purchaser shall be entitled to deduct from the amount of SD Bond any loss or

damage which the purchaser may suffer or be put by any reason of or due to any act or other

default recoverable by the purchaser from the contract. The losses recoverable by the

purchaser from the SD Bond shall include all losses incurred by the purchaser during the

warranty period on account of failure of equipment or delay in attending the equipment by the

contractor during the warranty period as per stipulations of the contract.

3.23.4 The SD Bond will be returned to the contractor without any interest on performance and

completion of the contract which shall include installation, commissioning of complete

equipment to be supplied under the contract and fulfilment of warranty obligations for the

complete equipment in terms of the contract.

3.24 Warranty

3.24.1 Tenderer shall provide comprehensive warranty against all manufacturing defects for a period

of 12 months from the date of complete commissioning or 18 months from the date of

completion of supply of material whichever is minimum for all hardware & system software,

Networking Equipment.

3.24.2 In case of warranty period stated in tender document part-II is longer than 12 months,

warranty shall be applicable for stated period from the date of complete commissioning or

stated warranty period plus 6 months from the date of completion of supply of material.

3.25 Income-Tax

3.25.1 Income tax shall be deducted at source by IRCTC from all the payments made to bidder

according to the Income tax Act, unless bidder prior to release of payment submits valid and

complete documents for Income tax exemption.

3.25.2 A certificate shall be provided by IRCTC to the bidder for any tax deducted at source.

3.26 Intentionally Kept Blank

3.27 Settlement of Disputes/Arbitration and Jurisdiction

3.27.1 The contractor shall not be entitled to make any claim whatsoever against the Purchaser

under or by virtue of or arising out of this contract, nor shall the Purchaser entertain or

consider any such claim if made by the Contractor, after he shall have signed a “No Claim”

certificate in favour of the Purchaser, after the contract is finally completed. The contractor

shall be debarred from disputing the correctness of the items covered by “No claim”

Certificate or demanding a reference of Arbitration in respect thereof.

3.27.2 Matters finally determined by the Purchaser: All disputes and differences of any kind


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whatsoever arising out of or in connection with the contract, whether during the progress of

the contract or after their completion and whether before or after the termination of the

contract, shall be referred by the Contractor to the purchaser and the purchaser shall within a

reasonable time period after their presentation make and notify decisions thereon in writing.

The directions, classification, measurements, drawings and certificates with respect to any

matter the decision of which is specifically provided for by these or other special conditions,

given and made by the purchaser, or by the officer on behalf of the purchaser, are matters

which are referred to hereinafter as “Excepted Matters” and shall be final and binding upon

the contractor and shall not be set aside on account of any informality, omission, delay of

error in proceeding in or about the same for any other ground or for any other reason and

shall be without Appeal.

3.27.3 The parties hereto further agree to submit demand in writing that the dispute / differences be

referred to arbitration along with format annexed hereto as Annexure - …. the demand for

arbitration shall specified the matters which are in question, for subject of dispute or

difference as also the amount of claim item wise.

3.27.4 Only such dispute or differences, in respect of which the demand has been made, together

with counter claims of setoff given by IRCTC shall be referred to arbitration and other matters

shall not include in the reference.

3.27.5 Demand for arbitration: In the event of any dispute or difference or differences between the

parties hereto as to the construction or operation of this contract/agreement including validity

thereof, the parties hereto shall endeavour to settle such dispute amicably in the first instance

in accordance with the following matrix.

I. The authorized marketing representatives of each party will discuss and attempt to resolve

the dispute within a period of 30 days from the occurrence of the event.

II. The attempt to bring about an amicable settlement shall be treated as having failed as soon

as one of the parties hereto after following the escalation matrix in the manner set forth

above, gives a notice to this effect, to the other party in writing. Thereafter such dispute shall

be resolved in the matter set forth below:

a) In the case any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this agreement

or any matter or issue arising there from which is unresolved by amicable settlement

(Dispute) it shall be resolved in accordance with Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996.

Such dispute shall be referred to the sole arbitrator to be mutually appointed by the

parties as per the provisions of Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996.

b) In case the parties fail to appoint sole Arbitrator within 30 days, the dispute shall be

referred to a three-member Arbitral Tribunal. One member each shall be appointed by

both the parties. They shall, within 30 days of their appointment, mutually decide on the

name of third Arbitrator. Arbitration proceedings shall be deemed to commence in

accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation act 1996. The award of the Arbitrator

shall be final and binding on the parties to this agreement. The venue of the Arbitration

shall be New Delhi. The fees and expenses of the sole arbitrator or the Arbitration

tribunal, as the case may be, and all other expenses of the arbitration shall be borne &

shared by the parties and the arbitration fee shall be paid as per IRCTC Circular dated

28.10.2019.

3.27.6 The venue of arbitration shall be at New Delhi.

3.27.7 The jurisdiction for settlement of any disputes through Court under this contract shall be at

Delhi only.

3.28 Force Majeure

3.28.1 If at any time, during the continuance of this contract, the performance in whole or in part by

either party or any obligation under this contract shall be prevented or delayed by reason of

any war, or hostility, acts of the public enemy, civil commotion, sabotage, fires, floods,


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explosions, epidemics/pandemics, quarantine restriction, strikes, lockouts or act of God

(hereinafter referred to as events) provided notice of happenings of any such eventuality is

given by either party to the other within 21 days from the date of occurrence thereof, neither

party shall by reason of such event be entitled to terminate this contract nor shall either party

have any such claim for damages against the other in respect of such non-performance or

delay in performance, and deliveries under the contract shall be resumed as soon as

practicable after such event may come to an end or cease to exist and the decision of the

purchaser as to whether the deliveries have been so resumed or not shall be final and

conclusive provided further that if the performance in whole or part of any obligation under

this contract is prevented or delayed by reason of any such event for a period exceeding 60

days either party may at his option, terminate the contract provided also that if the contract is

terminated under this clause, the Purchaser shall be at liberty to take over from the

Successful tenderer at a price to be fixed by the purchaser with mutual consent which shall be

final. All unused, undamaged and acceptable materials bought out components and stores in

course of manufacture in possession of the Successful tenderer at the time of such

termination of such portions thereof as the purchaser may deem fit excepting such materials

bought out components and goods as the Successful tenderer may with the concurrence of

the Purchaser select to retain.

3.29 Evaluation of Offers

Two bid tenders:

3.29.1 The Technical bids shall be opened first on the prescribed tender opening date and price bid

shall be opened later, on a specified date which would be made known to the technically

suitable tendering firms after technical evaluation has been completed so as to ensure that all

offers are evaluated technically without bias.

3.29.2 For deciding inter-se position at the time of commercial evaluation, the prices of original price

bid shall normally be considered. However, supplementary commercial bid prices shall also

be taken into consideration for deciding the inter-se position in case of revised/upgraded

specification/items whose revised prices have been called for from bidders. Final selection will

be made on the basis of lowest cost from amongst the technically suitable bids for which the

commercial bids are opened.

3.30 Integrity Pact

3.30.1 Integrity Pact will cover all stages of the contract i.e., from the stage of NIT to the stage of last

payment or a still later stage covered through warranty/guarantee.

3.30.2 Two Independent External Monitors (IEMs) have been appointed by IRCTC after approval of

CVC. The IEMs would be monitoring the contracts. There will be a provision in the contract

which would bind both the parties signing the Integrity Pact, to the recommendations of the

IEM, if any complaint regarding the contract is found substantiated.

3.30.3 A copy of the Integrity Pact to be signed is placed in Annexures at Section IV.

3.30.4 Bidder will have to sign integrity pact by affixing his signature on each page of the pre signed

copy of integrity pact for that tender, which will be a part of tender documents.

3.30.5 Any bids received without integrity pact signed by bidder shall be summarily rejected.

3.31 Management Phase

3.31.1 Governance

a. The review and management process of this Agreement shall be carried out in accordance

with the Governance Schedule set out in Schedule IV of this Agreement and shall cover all

the management aspects of the Project.

3.31.2 Use of services


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a. IRCTC as the case may be or its nominated agencies, will undertake and use the Services in

accordance with any instructions or procedures as per the acceptance criteria as set out in

out in the SLA or this Agreement or any agreement that may be entered into between the

Parties from time to time;

b. IRCTC as the case may be or its nominated agencies shall be responsible for the operation

and use of the Deliverables resulting from the Services.

3.31.3 Changes

a. Unless expressly dealt with elsewhere in this Agreement, any changes under or to this

Agreement or under or to the SLA shall be dealt with in accordance with the Change Control

Schedule set out in Schedule I of this Agreement.

3.31.4 Security and Safety

a. The MSP shall comply with the technical requirements of the relevant security, safety and

other requirements specified in the Information Technology Act or Telegraph Act including the

regulations issued by dept. of telecom (wherever applicable), IT Security Manual of IRCTC as

specifically stated in the RFP and follow the best industry standards related to safety and

security (including those as stated in the RFP), insofar as it applies to the provision of the

Services.

b. Each Party to the SLA/Agreement shall also comply with IRCTC or the Government of India,

and the respective State’s security standards and policies in force from time to time at each

location of which IRCTC or its nominated agencies make the MSP aware in writing insofar as

the same apply to the provision of the Services.

c. The Parties to the SLA/Agreement shall use reasonable endeavours to report forthwith in

writing to each other all identified attempts (whether successful or not) by unauthorized

persons (including unauthorized persons who are employees of any Party) either to gain

access to or interfere with the IRCTC as the case may be or any of their nominees data,

facilities or Confidential Information.

d. The Managed Service Partners shall upon reasonable request by the IRCTC as the case may

be or their nominee(s) participate in regular meetings when safety and information technology

security matters are reviewed.

e. As per the provisions of the SLA or this Agreement, the Managed Service Partners shall

promptly report in writing to the IRCTC or its nominated agencies, any act or omission which

they are aware that could have an adverse effect on the proper conduct of safety and

information technology security at the facilities of IRCTC as the case may be.

3.31.5 Cooperation

Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in this Agreement or the SLA, each Party (“Providing

Party”) to this Agreement or to the SLA undertakes promptly to provide the other Party

(“Receiving Party”) with all such information and co-operation which the Receiving Party

reasonably requests, provided that such information and co-operation:

a. does not require material expenditure by the Providing Party to provide the same;

b. is reasonably required by the Receiving Party in order for it to comply with its obligations

under this Agreement or the SLA;

c. cannot be construed to be Confidential Information; and

d. is capable of being provided by the Providing Party.

Further, each Party agrees to co-operate with the contractors and subcontractors of the other

Party as reasonably requested in order to accomplish the purposes of this Agreement.

3.32 Audit, Access and Reporting

3.32.1 The MSP shall allow access to IRCTC or its nominated agencies to all information which is in

the possession or control of the MSP and which relates to the provision of the Services as set

out in the Audit, Access and Reporting Schedule and which is reasonably required by IRCTC

to comply with the terms of the Audit, Access and Reporting Schedule set out as Schedule III


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of this Agreement.

3.33 Assignment

3.33.1 Any assignment of any rights hereunder, in any manner, by operation of law or otherwise,

without the prior written consent of IRCTC, shall be void. Any such consent shall not relieve

the Bidder from its obligations under the RFP.

3.33.2 The Bidder shall not give, bargain, sell, assign or sublet or otherwise dispose-off the Proposal

or any part thereof, or the benefit or advantage of being the selected Bidder/Vendor or any

part thereof, to any third party.

3.34 Illegal Gratification

3.34.1 The Bidder shall not directly or indirectly (whether directly or through its Associates, agent or

servant or anyone on its behalf) offer or give any bribe, commission, gift or give any

advantage, promise or offer, to any officer or employee of the Purchaser, or to any person on

its behalf in relation to obtaining or execution of the Agreement or any other contract with the

Purchaser.

3.34.2 Any bribe, commission, gift or advantage given, promised or offered by or on behalf of the

bidder or its Associates, agent or servant or, anyone on its behalf, to any officer or employee

of the Purchaser, or to any person on its behalf in relation to obtaining or execution of the

Agreement or any other contract with the Purchaser shall, in addition to any criminal liability

which the Bidder may incur, subject the Bidder to the rescission of the Agreement and all

other contracts with the Purchaser and to the payment of any loss or damage resulting from

such decision and the Purchaser shall be entitled to deduct the amounts so payable from any

money due to the Bidder under the Agreement or any other contract with the Purchaser.

3.34.3 The Bidder shall not lend or borrow from or have or enter into any monetary dealings or

transactions either directly or indirectly with any employee of the Purchaser and if the bidder

shall do so, the Purchaser shall be entitled forthwith to rescind the contract and all other

contracts with the Purchaser.

3.34.4 The Bidder is required to co-ordinate and follow up with the Purchaser’s Representative and

other contractors/bidder, except as may be expressly excused in the Agreement and no delay

or failure to perform on the part of the Purchaser (or its vendors, other contractors and/or

Bidders) shall excuse the bidder from the timely performance of its obligations under the

Agreement.


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4 Special Conditions of the Contract (SCC)

4.1 General

a) Tenure of Contract: The tenure of the contract shall be for a period of five years (with a

lock-in period of 1 year).

b) Extension of contract: The contract may be further extended for a period of two more

years or part thereof at the sole discretion of IRCTC subject to the same terms and condition

of the tender document.

c) IRCTC reserves the right to amend this Tender or its terms and any information contained

herein or to cancel the Bidding Process at any time by notice, in writing, to the Bidders.

Further, it may in no event be assumed that there shall be no deviation or change in any of

the herein-mentioned information.

d) Bidders: The Bids for this contract will be considered only from those Bidders i.e.

proprietorship firms, partnership firms, companies, corporations, HUF, start-up, MSME firms

etc. who meet the requisite eligibility criteria.

I. Any Central Government department/Ministry of Railways must not have banned

business with the Bidder as on the date to Bid submission.

II. The Bidder should not have suffered bankruptcy/insolvency during last 5 years and

must submit an undertaking to this effect as part of the bid.

e) Indemnities and Liabilities: The bidder shall indemnify and protect the IRCTC from and

against all the actions, suits, proceedings losses, costs, damages, charges, claims and

demands of every nature and description brought against or recovered from IRCTC/Railways

by reasons of any act or omission of the contractor, his agents or employees, in the execution

of the works or in the guarding of the same.

Total financial liabilities of the bidder arising out of breach of contractual obligations shall not

exceed the value of contract and shall be limited to the direct damages. However, any

liabilities arising out of breach of any obligations commonly applicable in the Indian or

International law or regulation or Intellectual property right infringements etc. shall not be

limited by this agreement and the bidder shall be solely and completely responsible for any

such violation on this part.

4.2 Term and Duration of the agreement

4.2.1 This Agreement shall come into effect on the date of signing of the agreement between two

parties (hereinafter the ‘Effective Date’) and shall continue till five years post go live of the

IRHES 139 or unless terminated earlier (as per clause 4.9), in which case the contract will get

terminated on fulfilment of all obligations mentioned as per clause 4.9 and Schedule II.

4.3 Payment Terms

4.3.1 Payment shall be done on a quarterly basis based on the invoice generated and

monthly/weekly reports. Penalties shall be levied if applicable based on the SLA clauses

4.3.2 Penalties shall not exceed 100% of the quarterly bill. If the penalties exceed more than 50%

of the total bill, it will result in a material breach. In case of a material breach, the operator will

be given a cure period of one month to rectify the breach failing which a notice to terminate

may be issued by the Department

4.3.3 Total SLA penalty applicable shall be capped attotal value of the Security Deposit.

4.3.4 Penalties shall not exceed 100% of the quarterly bill. In case, the SLA penalty levied on any

bidder exceeds 20% of the invoice value for 3 consecutive quarters, it will result in a material

breach. In case of a material breach, the operator will be given a cure period of one month to

rectify the breach failing which a notice to terminate may be issued by the Department


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4.3.5 Payment shall be made on the basis of total number of calls received in the quarter by the

bidder. Price of per call shall be quoted by the bidder in the financial quote which will remain

applicable for the full duration of the project

4.3.6 The Call Centre Service Provider shall be paid for the connected calls ONLY. Not reachable

and not connected calls shall not be paid for.

4.3.7 Any inbound call with less than 10 seconds talk time (short calls) will not be considered for

invoicing.

4.3.8 Advance payments will not be made.

4.3.9 The payments shall be released to the bidder on submission of documents as below:

i) Bills (Invoices) in duplicate of quarterly service

ii) Confirmation of the validity of SD Bond for a period up to 3 months beyond the last date of

contract period.

iii) Inspection certificate/ Satisfactory services report in original as applicable from Project

Manager

iv) Certificate for SLA measurement/ verification

v) For every 4th quarter of the years, in addition to the documents as mentioned above, the

bidder shall also submit:

a. Updated Functional Specifications of the IRHES 139 system.

b. Deployment Architecture Details covering the complete IRHES 139 ecosystem.

c. Change Request Document covering all such requests in the preceding quarter along

with actions taken on the changes. This shall include the functional requirements,

business logic details and deployment architecture details. (only if applicable)

4.3.10 Service level monitoring must be computed automatically in the SLA monitoring tool of the call

centre service provider and access to be provided to IRCTC at all times on real time basis.

4.3.11 Access to all recorded calls in call centre service provider’s system must be provided to

IRCTC officials. All service levels, payment calculation, call details (duration and volume)

must be generated as a record from the SLA monitoring tool of the call centre service provider

only with access of the same to IRCTC officials.

4.3.12 The total monthly call duration & number of inbound calls submitted by the Call Centre

Service Provider (CCSP) shall be verified with the Call Detail Record (CDR) of Telephone

number service provider (TSP). The total monthly duration and number of calls submitted by

Call Centre Service Provider shall not exceed the total monthly duration and number of calls

submitted by Telephone number service provider (TSP). The Call Centre Service Provider

should ensure that more than 90% of the calls are attended. The same should be verified by

the telecom service provider.

4.3.13 Payment for each of the services / works to the bidder shall be made quarterly on the basis of

SLA performance and submission of the documents as detailed above. No other payments

except mentioned in the price bid shall be payable for the services.

I. General Term:It is bidder’s responsibility to comply with all tax related laws, payment of

GST as applicable for all payments made to IRCTC.

a. IRCTC shall issue a Letter of Award (LOA) to the successful bidder.

b. Time period of signing of contract between two parties = 1 months from LOA

c. If all dues are not made within 1 months from the issue of LOA, IRCTC reserves the

right to cancel the contract.

d. IRCTC reserves the right to recover any outstanding dues from the bidder by

adjusting the same against SD of the bidder or any amount payable to the bidder

either under this contract or any other contract.

e. SD shall be provided to IRCTC as per the RFP requirements

f. Payment should be made only through Online Bank transfer.


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g. All prices should be in Indian Rupees and no foreign exchange/import license shall be

provided.

II. Security Deposit as per Financial Bid of Instruction to Bidder.

III. Payment Schedule:

a. Security Deposit (SD) along with Letter of Acceptance should be paid within 1 month

from the issue of LOA.

b. IRCTC/Bidder (as applicable) will raise the invoice on quarterly basis and payment

shall be made by Bidder/IRCTC within 30 days from the date of invoice.

c. Time period to make the system online = 3 months from LOA

d. IRCTC reserves the right of charging interest @ 18% per annum if the payment of SD

is not made within 1 month from LOA.

e. Recovery of outstanding amount: IRCTC reserves the right to recover any outstanding

dues from the bidder by adjusting the same against SD of the bidder or any amount

payable to the bidder either under this contract or any other contract.

f. Mode of Payment: SD shall be provided to IRCTC as per the RFP requirements

g. All prices should be in Indian Rupees and no foreign exchange/import license shall be

provided.

h. Penalty to be realised from bills payable from current quarter bill or next quarter bills

i. Report to be submitted before submission of bills

IV. Payment terms for futuristic provisions related to data monetization and

enhancement:

a. In the future, if the bidder identifies any provision to monetize, improve or optimize

data, then the costs/ revenue generated shall be shared between IRCTC and the

bidder after coming upon a mutual agreement.

4.4 Conditions Governing the Performance of the Contract

4.4.1 All notices to be given on behalf of IRCTC and all other actions to be taken by IRCTC may be

given or taken on behalf of IRCTC by GGM/IT or GGM/Services or any other officers for the

time being entrusted with such functions, duties and powers by IRCTC.

4.4.2 The information provided by the Bidder must be reasonably complete and accurate. IRCTC

reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as IRCTC deems necessary to

satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or Government request after informing

the Bidder of the same.

4.5 Taxes and Other Statutory Dues

4.5.1 The quarterly fees payable under this contract will be exclusive of applicable national, state or

local sales or use taxes or value added tax or service tax or goods and services tax (‘Taxes’)

that IRCTC is legally obligated to charge under the applicable legislation.

4.5.2 If at any time the credit for Taxes is denied to IRCTC or payment of Taxes is sought from

bidder due to, but not limited to, issuance of a deficient invoice, or default in payment of

Taxes or non-compliance of applicable laws. The bidder shall pay the applicable GST to

IRCTC which IRCTC shall pay to Government of India.

4.5.3 If at any time the credit for Taxes is denied to IRCTC or payment of Taxes is sought from

bidder due to IRCTC, but not limited to deficient TDS certificate, or default in payment of TDS

or noncompliance of applicable laws and regulations by bidder.

4.5.4 Bidder may deduct or withhold any taxes that bidder may be legally obligated to deduct or

withhold from any amounts payable to IRCTC under this contract, and payment to IRCTC as

reduced by such deductions or withholdings will constitute full payment and settlement to

IRCTC of amounts payable under this contract.

4.5.5 Throughout the Tenure of this contract, Bidder/IRCTC will provide IRCTC/Bidder with any


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forms, documents, or certifications, including PAN/GSTIN as may be required for bidder to

satisfy any information reporting or withholding tax obligations with respect to any payments

under this contract.

4.6 Non-Disclosure Agreement

4.6.1 Bidder should maintain the confidentiality & security of the data and should also provide the

consent and adhere to the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) provided by IRCTC, placed at

Section 5.13.

4.7 Lock-In Period

4.7.1 The one year of the Term from launch date shall be considered as lock-in period (“Lock in

Period”), where no parties shall terminate the agreement.

4.8 Termination by either Party

4.8.1 IRCTC reserves right to terminate this contract by giving a 3 months' notice to the Bidder,

post lock-in period and in the aforesaid event, IRCTC will be liable to return the Security

deposit after recovering the dues, if any.

4.8.2 Bidder with the approval of IRCTC can withdraw from this contract by giving 6 months' notice

to the IRCTC with suitable reasons, post lock-in period and in the aforesaid event, IRCTC will

be liable to return the Security deposit after recovering the dues, if any.

4.9 Termination of Contract

a) In the event of default, IRCTC may issue a notice of 15 days to remedy or make good such

breach in spite of such notice in writing, if Bidder fails to remedy the breach reasonably, it

shall be lawful for the IRCTC to terminate the contract with forfeiture of Security deposit. The

licensee should be debarred from participating in Tenders floated by IRCTC during the whole

1 year. The decision of IRCTC shall be final and binding on the bidder.

b) IRCTC shall be entitled to terminate the contract forthwith without any notice in case of

serious and repeated defaults.

4.9.1 IRCTC may, without prejudice, to any other remedy for breach of contract, by written notice of

default sent to the vendor terminate the contract in whole or part thereof if:

i. The selected Bidder commits a breach of any of the terms and conditions of the bid.

ii. The Bidder goes into liquidation, voluntarily or otherwise.

iii. An attachment is levied or continues to be levied for a period of seven days upon effects of

the bid.

iv. If the selected Bidder fails to complete the assignment as per the timelines prescribed in

the RFP and the extension if any allowed, it will be a breach of contract. The Purchaser

reserves its right to cancel the order in the event of delay and forfeit the bid security as

liquidated damages for the delay.

v. If deductions of account of liquidated damages exceeds more than the maximum SD.

vi. If the bidder becomes insolvent or goes into liquidation, bankruptcy or receivership,

whether compulsory or voluntary, then the purchaser has the right to terminate any part of

or the entire contract

vii. If, as the result of Force Majeure, the bidderis unable to perform a material portion of the

Services for a period of not less than sixty (60) days, then the purchaser has the right to

terminate any part of or the entire contract

viii. If the bidder, in the judgment of the purchaser has engaged in corrupt or fraudulent

practices in competing for or in executing the Contract.

ix. If the bidder submits to the purchaser a false statement which has a material effect on the

rights, obligations or interests of the purchaser.

x. If the bidder places itself in position of conflict of interest or fails to disclose promptly any

conflict of interest to the purchaser.


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xi. If the bidder has been blacklisted by the purchaser or any other government agency or

disqualified for any reason.

xii. If the bidder fails to comply with the following:

a. The bidder shall protect from unauthorized access, loss or damage and also keep safe,

secure and confidential all demographic information, all documents, data and

information of any nature provided to the bidder for the discharge of services.

b. The bidder shall not store, copy, publish, print, interfere, tamper with or manipulate the

information/data received from IRCTC, other than required for discharge of services.

c. The bidder shall not give access to the information or data collected and received from

IRCTC in the course of discharge of services, to any person who is not authorized to

handle the information or data. Information should only be given to authorized

personnel and only used in the manner prescribed by IRCTC.

xiii. In the event of bidder is found:

a. Sub-contracting of work/services of IRCTC not allowed under this RFP except Cloud

Service Provider

b. Provided incorrect information to IRCTC.

c. Non-co-operative during audits conducted by IRCTC or auditing agencies appointed for

the purpose.

xiv. If the bidder fails to comply with any final decision reached as a result of arbitration

proceedings pursuant to Clause4.10 hereof.

xv. In case the selected Bidder fails to deliver the quantity as stipulated in the delivery

schedule, Purchaser reserves the right to procure the same or similar product from

alternate sources at the risk, cost and responsibility of the selected Bidder.

xvi. After award of the contract, if the selected Bidder does not perform satisfactorily or delays

execution of the contract, Purchaser reserves the right to get the balance contract

executed by another party of its choice by giving one month’s notice for the same. In this

event, the selected Bidder is bound to make good the additional expenditure, which

Purchaser may have to incur in executing the balance contract. This clause is applicable, if

for any reason, the contract is cancelled.

xvii. Purchaser reserves the right to recover any dues payable by the selected Bidder from any

amount outstanding to the credit of the selected Bidder, including the pending bills and/or

invoking the bank guarantee under this contract.

4.9.2 Bidder and IRCTC have agreed that upon expiry or termination of this project, both parties

shall pay the other amounts due and payable at the date of termination. Payment shall be

made within a maximum period of 45 days.


4.11 Corrupt Practices

4.11.1 Bidder is expected to observe the highest standard of ethics during the execution of this

contract. If Bidder has engaged in corrupt or fraudulent practices, in competing for or in

executing the contract, IRCTC may, after given 15 days’ notice to Bidder, terminate the

contract. In pursuit of this project, IRCTC:

I. Defines, for the purpose of this provision, the terms set forth below as follows: a. “corrupt practice” means the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting or anything of value to

influence the action in the procurement process or in contract execution; and

b. “Fraudulent practices” means a misrepresentation of facts in order to influence a

procurement process or the execution of a contract to the detriment of IRCTC.

4.12 Breach of Contract 4.12.1 Any breach of the terms & conditions by Bidder, or any one employed by him or acting on his

behalf (whether with or without the knowledge of Bidder) or the committing of any offence by


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Bidder, or any one employed by him or acting on his behalf under Chapter IX of the Indian

Penal Code, 1860 or the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 or any other act enacted for the

prevention of corruption by public servants shall entitle IRCTC to terminate the contract

forthwith and all or any other contracts with Bidder and to recover from Bidder the amount of

any loss arising from such cancellation.

4.13 Intellectual Property 4.13.1 The intellectual property rights to all the outputs, deliverables, data, reports, etc. developed

during the execution of this Contract shall remain sole property of the IRCTC.

4.13.2 Each Party acknowledges that, as between the Parties, the other Party owns all right, title and

interest in and to such other Party’s IPR, whether presently existing or later developed by

such other Party. Nothing herein shall give either Party any right, title or interest in any of the

other Party’s IPR, or, except as provided herein, any right to use any of the other Party’s IPR

in any manner. For the purpose of this clause, “IPR” means intellectual property rights

including, but not limited to, patents, copyrights, designs, trademarks, service marks, data,

know-how, trade secrets, trade names, inventions, whether registered, unregistered and any

applications for the same.

4.13.3 The IPR of each Party shall, at all times during the term of this project and thereafter, remain

the sole and exclusive property of that respective Party. Either Party shall not use any IPR of

the other Party without its prior written permission in relation to any

communication/advertisement. Nothing contained in this project shall constitute an agreement

to transfer or license or to grant IPR of either Party to the other Party.

4.14 Compliance of Laws 4.14.1 It is distinctly understood by the Bidder that the employees engaged in this project will be

deemed to be its employees and Bidder shall be entirely responsible for compliances of all

laws and rules governing employment of such employees. It shall also be the responsibility of

Bidder to comply with all laws, ordinances, rules, byelaws, regulations, notifications,

guidelines, policies, directions, directives, and order of any governmental authority including

municipal authorities.

4.15 Data/ Database

4.15.1 Data/ Database is the exclusive property of IRCTC and the same shall not be used by service

provider for his own benefit.

4.16 Assignment

4.16.1 Other than in the context of an internal restructuring or reorganization of Parties, neither party

may assign any part of this project without the written consent of the other, any other attempt

to transfer or assign is void.

4.17 No Agency 4.17.1 This project does not create an agency, partnership or joint venture between the parties.

4.18 Jurisdiction of Court 4.18.1 The Courts at New Delhi shall have the exclusive jurisdiction in the matter concerned to this

agreement.

4.19 Conflict of Interest 4.19.1 The Bidder shall hold IRCTC’s interest paramount, without any consideration for future work,

and strictly avoid conflict with other assignment or its own corporate interest which is

detrimental to IRCTC.

4.19.2 The Bidder should not be engaged in any such business (excluding any work assigned to it by


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IRCTC), which has conflict of interest with the Project for which, the bid is being submitted.

4.19.3 Participation by the Bidder with a conflict of interest situation, would be examined by IRCTC,

and appropriate decision would be taken, which may also include disqualification of the bids

in which, it is involved.

4.19.4 IRCTC considers a conflict of interest to be a situation in which, a party has interests that

could improperly influence that party’s performance of official duties or responsibilities,

contractual obligations, or compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and that such

conflict of interest may contribute to or constitute a prohibited corrupt practice. A

Bidder/Vendor may be considered to be in a conflict of interest with one or more parties in this

Bidding process if, including but not limited to (a) receive or have received any direct or

indirect subsidy from any of them; or (b) have common controlling shareholders; or (c) have

the same legal representative for purposes of this bid; or (d) have a relationship with each

other, directly or through common third parties, that puts them in a position to have access to

information about or influence on the bid of another Bidder, or influence the decisions of

IRCTC regarding this Bidding process. IRCTC requires that a Bidder participating in this

RFP/bidding, procurement process shall not have a conflict of interest. Any Bidder / Vendor

found to have a conflict of interest in any manner shall be ineligible for award of the contract.

4.20 Access to the IRCTC or Its Nominated Agencies Locations 4.20.1 For so long as the Managed Service Partner provides services to the IRCTC or its nominated

agencies location, as the case may be, on a non-permanent basis and to the extent

necessary, the IRCTC as the case may be or its nominated agencies shall, subject to

compliance by the Managed Service Partner with any safety and security guidelines which

may be provided by the IRCTC as the case may be or its nominated agencies and notified to

the Managed Service Partner in writing, provide the Managed Service Partner with:

a. reasonable access, in the same manner granted to the IRCTC or its nominated agencies

employees, to the IRCTC as the case may be location twenty-four hours a day, seven

days a week;

b. reasonable work space, access to office equipment as mutually agreed and other related

support services in such location and at such other the IRCTC as the case may be

location, if any, as may be reasonably necessary for the Managed Service Partner to

perform its obligations hereunder and under the SLA.

4.20.2 Access to locations, office equipment and services shall be made available to the Managed

Service Partner by the IRCTC as the case may be or its nominated agencies. The Managed

Service Partner agrees to ensure that its employees, agents and contractors shall not use the

location, services and equipment referred to in RFP for the following purposes:

a. for the transmission of any material which is defamatory, offensive or abusive or of an

obscene or menacing character; or

b. in a manner which constitutes a violation or infringement of the rights of any person, firm or

company (including but not limited to rights of copyright or confidentiality).

4.21 Conditions and Precedent Effective Date 4.21.1 Provisions to take effect upon fulfilment of Conditions Precedent

Subject to express terms to the contrary, the rights and obligations under this Agreement shall

take effect only upon fulfilment of all the Conditions Precedent set out below. However,

IRCTC or its

Nominated agencies may at any time at its sole discretion waive fully or partially any of the

Conditions

Precedent for the Managed Service Partners. For the avoidance of doubt, it is expressly

clarified that the obligations of the Parties (or its nominated agencies) under this Agreement

shall commence from the fulfilment of the Conditions Precedent as set forth below.


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4.21.2 Conditions Precedent of the Implementing Agency

The Managed Service Partners shall be required to fulfil the Conditions Precedent in which is

as follows:

a. to provide a Performance Security/Guarantee and other guarantees/ payments within 30

days of the receipt of notification of award from the IRCTC; and

b. to provide the IRCTC or its nominated agencies certified true copies of its constitutional

documents and board resolutions authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of

this Agreement by the Managed Service Partners (optional).

4.21.3 Conditions Precedent of the IRCTC

The IRCTC shall be required to fulfil the Conditions Precedents which are as follows:

a. Handing over of <project office> (if applicable)

b. Necessary clearances associated with the execution of the project, unless specified to be

performed by the MSP

c. Approval of the Project by a Competent Authority, etc.

4.21.4 Extension of time for fulfilment of Conditions Precedent

The Parties may, by mutual agreement extend the time for fulfilling the Conditions Precedent

and the Term of this Agreement.

4.21.5 Non-fulfilment of the Managed Service Partners’ Conditions Precedent

a. In the event that any of the Conditions Precedent of the Managed Service Partners have not

been fulfilled within 15 days of signing of this Agreement and the same have not been waived

fully or partially by IRCTC or its nominated agencies, this Agreement shall cease to exist;

b. In the event that the Agreement fails to come into effect on account of nonfulfillment of the

Managed Service Partners’ Conditions Precedent, the IRCTC or its nominated agencies shall

not be liable in any manner whatsoever to the Managed Service Partners and the IRCTC

shall forthwith take action as per EMD Performa/Bid Securing Declaration.

c. In the event that possession of any of the IRCTC or its nominated agencies facilities has

been delivered to the Managed Service Partners prior to the fulfilment of the Conditions

Precedent, upon the termination of this Agreement such shall immediately revert to IRCTC or

its nominated agencies, free and clear from any encumbrances or claims.

4.22 Obligations under SLA

4.22.1 The SLA shall be a separate contract in respect of this Agreement as per Schedule V and

shall be entered into concurrently with this Agreement between IRCTC and Managed Service

Partners;

4.22.2 In relation to any future SLA entered into between the Parties; each of the Parties shall

observe and perform the obligations set out herein.

4.22.3 Change of Control

a. In the event of a change of control of the Managed Service Partners during the Term, the

Managed Service Partners shall promptly notify IRCTC and/or its nominated agencies of the

same in the format set out as Schedule I –format for CCN of this Agreement.

b. In the event that the net worth of the surviving entity is less than that of Managed Service

Partners prior to the change of control, the IRCTC or its nominated agencies may within 30

days of becoming aware of such change in control, require a replacement of existing

Performance Guarantee furnished by the Managed Service Partners from a guarantor

acceptable to the IRCTC or its nominated agencies (which shall not be Managed Service

Partners or any of its associated entities).

c. If such a guarantee is not furnished within 30 days of the IRCTC or its nominated agencies

requiring the replacement, the IRCTC may exercise its right to terminate the SLA and/ or this


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Agreement within a further 30 days by written notice, to become effective as specified in such

notice.

d. Pursuant to termination, the effects of termination as set out in Clause 4.9 of this Agreement

shall follow.

For the avoidance of doubt, it is expressly clarified that the internal reorganization of the

Managed Service Partners shall not be deemed an event of a change of control for purposes

of this Clause unless the surviving entity is of less net worth than the predecessor entity.

4.22.4 Final Testing and certifications

The Project shall be governed by the mechanism of final acceptance testing and certification

to be put into place by the IRCTC and Managed Service Partners as under:

a. Final testing and certification criteria will lay down a set of guidelines following internationally

accepted norms and standards for testing and certification for all aspects of project

development and implementation covering software, hardware and networking including the

processes relating to the design of solution architecture, design of systems and sub- systems,

coding, testing, business process description, documentation, version control, change

management, security, service oriented architecture, performance in relation to compliance

with SLA metrics, interoperability, scalability, availability and compliance with all the technical

and functional requirements of the RFP and this Agreement;

b. Final testing and certification criteria will be finalized from the development stage to ensure

that the guidelines are being followed and to avoid large scale modifications pursuant to

testing done after the application is fully developed;

c. Final testing and certification criteria will consider conducting specific tests on the software,

hardware, networking, security and all other aspects;

d. Final testing and certification criteria will establish appropriate processes for notifying the

Managed Service Partners of any deviations from the norms, standards or guidelines at the

earliest instance after taking cognizance of the same to enable the Managed Service Partners

to take corrective action; etc.

The Parties shall each ensure that the range of the Services under the SLA shall not be

varied, reduced or increased except with the prior written agreement between the IRCTC and

Managed Service Partners in accordance with the Change Control Schedule set out in

Schedule I of this Agreement. Save for the express terms of the Terms of Payment as set out

in this Agreement, IRCTC or its nominated agencies and its users may purchase any

particular category of Services that may become necessary as per the Change Control

Schedule set out in Schedule I of this Agreement, without the need to go for a separate

procurement process.


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SCHEDULE I: Change Control Schedule

1.1 Introducing a Change

1.1.1 The IRCTC shall have the right to propose, and subsequently require, the Project Manager to

order the Bidder from time to time during the performance of the Contract to make any

change, modification, addition, or deletion to, in, or from the System (interchangeably called

Change), provided that such Change falls within the general scope of the System, does not

constitute unrelated work, and is technically practicable, taking into account both the state of

advancement of the System and the technical compatibility of the Change envisaged with the

nature of the System as originally specified in the Contract. A Change may involve, but is not

restricted to, the substitution of updated Information Technologies and related Services in

accordance with system/product Upgrades.

1.1.2 The Bidder may from time to time during its performance of the Contract propose to the

IRCTC (with a copy to the Project Manager) any Change that the Bidder considers necessary

or desirable to improve the quality or efficiency of the System. IRCTC may at its discretion

approve or reject any Change proposed by the Bidder.

1.1.3 Notwithstanding Clauses 1.1.1. and 1.1.2 of Schedule I of this document, no change made

necessary because of any default of the Bidder in the performance of its obligations under the

Contract shall be deemed to be a Change, and such change shall not result in any extra cost

or Time for Achieving Operational Acceptance.

1.1.4 The procedure on how to proceed with and execute Changes is specified below.

1.1.5 Moreover, IRCTC and Bidder will agree, during development of the Project Plan, to a date

prior to the scheduled date for Operational Acceptance, after which the Technical

Requirements for the System shall be frozen. Any major Change initiated after this time will

be dealt with after Operational Acceptance.

1.2 Changes originating from IRCTC

1.2.1 If IRCTC proposes a Change pursuant to Clause 1.1.1 above, it shall send to the Bidder a

request for Change Proposal, requiring the Bidder to prepare and furnish to the Project

Manager as soon as reasonably practicable a Change Proposal, which shall include the

following:

brief description of the Change;

impact on the Time for Achieving Operational Acceptance;

detailed estimated cost of the Change;

effect on Functional Guarantees (if any);

Effect on any other provisions of the Contract.

1.2.2 Prior to preparing and submitting the Change Proposal, the Bidder shall submit to the Project

Manager a Change Estimate Proposal, which shall be an estimate of the cost of preparing the

Change Proposal, plus a first approximation of the suggested approach and cost for

implementing the changes. Upon receipt of the Bidder’s Change Estimate Proposal, IRCTC

shall do one of the following:

1.2.2.1 Accept the Bidder’s estimate with instructions to the Bidder to proceed with the

preparation of the Change Proposal;

1.2.2.2 Advise the Bidder of any part of its Change Estimate Proposal that is unacceptable and

request the Bidder to review its estimate;

1.2.2.3 Advise the Bidder that the IRCTC does not intend to proceed with the Change.

1.2.3 Upon receipt of the IRCTC’s instruction to proceed under Clause 1.2.2.1, the Bidder shall,

with proper expedition, proceed with the preparation of the Change Proposal, in accordance

with Clause 1.2.1. The Bidder, at its discretion, may specify a validity period for the Change

Proposal, after which if the IRCTC and Bidder has not reached agreement in accordance with

Clause 1.2.5, then Clause 1.2.6 shall apply.


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1.2.4 The pricing of any Change shall, as far as practicable, be calculated in accordance with the

rates and prices included in the Contract. If the nature of the Change is such that the Contract

rates and prices are inequitable, the parties to the Contract shall agree on other specific rates

to be used for valuing the Change. In this context, IRCTC decision will be final.

1.2.5 Upon receipt of the Change Proposal, the IRCTC and the Bidder shall mutually agree upon all

matters contained in the Change Proposal. Within fourteen (14) days after such agreement,

the IRCTC shall, if it intends to proceed with the Change, issue the Bidder a Change Order. If

the IRCTC is unable to reach a decision within fourteen (14) days, it shall notify the Bidder

with details of when the Bidder can expect a decision. If the IRCTC decides not to proceed

with the Change for whatever reason, it shall, within the said period of fourteen (14) days,

notify the Bidder accordingly. Under such circumstances, the Bidder shall not be entitled to

reimbursement of any costs incurred by it in the preparation of the Change Proposal.

1.2.6 If the IRCTC and the Bidder cannot reach agreement on the price for the Change, an

equitable adjustment to the Time for Achieving Operational Acceptance, or any other matters

identified in the Change Proposal, the Change will not be implemented.

1.3 Changes originating from Bidder

1.3.1 If the Bidder proposes a Change pursuant to Clause 1.1.2, the Bidder shall submit to the

Project Manager a written Application for Change Proposal, giving reasons for the proposed

Change and including the information specified in Clause 1.2.1. Upon receipt of the

Application for Change Proposal, the parties shall follow the procedures outlined in Clauses

1.2.5 and 1.2.6. However, should the IRCTC choose not to proceed or the IRCTC and the

Bidder cannot come to agreement on the change during any validity period that the Bidder

may specify in its Application for Change Proposal, the Bidder shall not be entitled to recover

the costs of preparing the Application for Change Proposal, unless subject to an agreement

between the IRCTC and the Bidder to the contrary.

1.4 The Bidder needs to make any changes in software and hardware suggested by the IRCTC or

the Bidder in accordance with clause 1 above. It is expected that any minor changes shall be

carried out by the MSP without any extra cost. In case of substantial change requests, extra

cost estimated for the change shall be paid by the IRCTC separately.

Change Control Notice (CCN) Format

Change Control Note CCN Number

Part A: Initiation

Title:

Originator:

Sponsor:

Date of Initiation:

Details of Proposed Change

(To include reason for change and appropriate details/specifications. Identify any attachments as A1, A2, and A3 etc.)

Authorized by: Date:

Name:


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Signature: Received by the IP

Date:

Name:

Signature:

Change Control Note CCN Number:

Part B: Evaluation

(Identify any attachments as B1, B2, and B3 etc.) Changes to Services, charging structure, payment profile, documentation, training, service levels and component working arrangements and any other contractual issue.

Brief Description of Solution:

Impact:

Deliverables:

Timetable:

Charges for Implementation: (including a schedule of payments)

Other Relevant Information: (including value-added and acceptance criteria)

Authorized by the Implementation Partner

Date:

Name:

Signature:


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SCHEDULE II: Exit Management Schedule

1.1 PURPOSE

1.1.1 This Schedule sets out the provisions, which will apply on expiry or termination of the MSA,

the Project Implementation, Operation and Management SLA.

1.1.2 In the case of termination of the Project Implementation and/or Operation and Management,

the Parties shall agree at that time whether, and if so during what period, the provisions of this

Schedule shall apply.

1.1.3 The Parties shall ensure that their respective associated entities carry out their respective

obligations set out in this Exit Management Schedule.

1.2 TRANSFER OF ASSETS

1.2.1 IRCTC shall be entitled to serve notice in writing on the MSP at any time during the exit

management period as detailed hereinabove requiring the MSP and/or its sub-contractors to

provide the IRCTC with a complete and up to date list of the Assets within 30 days of such

notice. IRCTC shall then be entitled to serve notice in writing on the MSP at any time prior to

the date that is 30 days prior to the end of the exit management period requiring the MSP to

sell the Assets, if any, to be transferred to IRCTC or its nominated agencies at book value as

determined as of the date of such notice in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws.

1.2.2 In case of contract being terminated by IRCTC, IRCTC reserves the right to ask MSP to

continue running the project operations for a period of 6 months after termination orders are

issued.

1.2.3 Upon service of a notice under this Article the following provisions shall apply:

i. in the event, if the Assets to be transferred are mortgaged to any financial institutions by

the MSP, the MSP shall ensure that all such liens and liabilities have been cleared beyond

doubt, prior to such transfer. All documents regarding the discharge of such lien and

liabilities shall be furnished to the IRCTC.

ii. All risk in and title to the Assets to be transferred / to be purchased by the IRCTC pursuant

to this Article shall be transferred to IRCTC, on the last day of the exit management period.

iii. IRCTC shall pay to the MSP on the last day of the exit management period such sum

representing the Net Block (procurement price less depreciation as per provisions Of

Companies Act) of the Assets to be transferred as stated in the Terms of Payment

Schedule.

iv. Payment to the outgoing MSP shall be made to the tune of last set of completed services /

deliverables, subject to SLA requirements.

v. The outgoing MSP will pass on to IRCTC and/or to the Replacement MSP, the subsisting

rights in any leased properties/ licensed products on terms not less favourable to IRCTC/

Replacement MSP, than that enjoyed by the outgoing MSP.

1.3 COOPERATION AND PROVISION OF INFORMATION

1.3.1 During the exit management period:

i. The Managed Service Partner will allow the IRCTC or its nominated agency access to

information reasonably required to define the then current mode of operation associated

with the provision of the services to enable the IRCTC to assess the existing services

being delivered;

ii. promptly on reasonable request by the IRCTC, the MSP shall provide access to and

copies of all information held or controlled by them which they have prepared or

maintained in accordance with this agreement relating to any material aspect of the

services (whether provided by the Managed Service Partner or sub-contractors appointed


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by the Managed Service Partner). The IRCTC shall be entitled to copy of all such

information. Such information shall include details pertaining to the services rendered and

other performance data. The Managed Service Partner shall permit the IRCTC or its

nominated agencies to have reasonable access to its employees and facilities as

reasonably required by the Chairman, PIU to understand the methods of delivery of the

services employed by the Managed Service Partner and to assist appropriate knowledge

transfer.

1.4 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, SECURITY AND DATA

1.4.1 The Managed Service Partner will promptly on the commencement of the exit management

period supply to the IRCTC or its nominated agency the following:

i. information relating to the current services rendered and customer and performance data

relating to the performance of sub-contractors in relation to the services;

ii. documentation relating to Computerization Project’s Intellectual Property Rights;

iii. documentation relating to sub-contractors;

iv. all current and updated data as is reasonably required for purposes of IRCTC or its

nominated agencies transitioning the services to its Replacement Managed Service Partner

in a readily available format nominated by the IRCTC, its nominated agency;

v. all other information (including but not limited to documents, records and agreements)

relating to the services reasonably necessary to enable IRCTC or its nominated agencies, or

its Replacement Managed Service Partner to carry out due diligence in order to transition

the provision of the Services to IRCTC or its nominated agencies, or its Replacement

Managed Service Partner (as the case may be).

1.4.2 Before the expiry of the exit management period, the Managed Service Partner shall deliver

to the IRCTC or its nominated agency all new or up-dated materials from the categories set

out in Schedule above and shall not retain any copies thereof, except that the Managed

Service Partner shall be permitted to retain one copy of such materials for archival purposes

only.

1.4.3 Before the expiry of the exit management period, unless otherwise provided under the MSA,

the IRCTC or its nominated agency shall deliver to the Managed Service Partner all forms of

Managed Service Partner confidential information, which is in the possession or control of

Chairperson, PIU or its users.

1.5 EMPLOYEES

1.5.1 The Promptly on reasonable request at any time during the exit management period, the

Managed Service Partner shall, subject to applicable laws, restraints and regulations

(including in particular those relating to privacy) provide to the IRCTC or its nominated agency

a list of all employees (with job titles) of the Managed Service Partner dedicated to providing

the services at the commencement of the exit management period.

1.5.2 The Promptly on reasonable request where any national, regional law or regulation relating to

the mandatory or automatic transfer of the contracts of employment from the Managed

Service Partner to the IRCTC or its nominated agency, or a Replacement Managed Service

Partner ("Transfer Regulation") applies to any or all of the employees of the Managed Service

Partner, then the Parties shall comply with their respective obligations under such Transfer

Regulations.

1.6 TRANSFER OF CERTAIN AGREEMENTS

1.6.1 On request by the IRCTC or its nominated agency the Managed Service Partner shall effect

such assignments, transfers, licences and sub-licences as the Chairperson, PIU may require

in favour of the Chairperson, PIU, or its Replacement Managed Service Partner in relation to


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any equipment lease, maintenance or service provision agreement between Managed

Service Partner and third party lessors, vendors, and which are related to the services and

reasonably necessary for the carrying out of replacement services by the IRCTC or its

nominated agency or its Replacement Managed Service Partner.

1.7 RIGHTS OF ACCESS TO PREMISES

1.7.1 At any time during the exit management period, where Assets are located at the Managed

Service Partner's premises, the Managed Service Partner will be obliged to give reasonable

rights of access to (or, in the case of Assets located on a third party's premises, procure

reasonable rights of access to) the IRCTC or its nominated agency and/or any Replacement

Managed Service Partner in order to make an inventory of the Assets.

1.7.2 At any time, The Managed Service Partner shall also give the IRCTC or its nominated agency

or its nominated agencies, or any Replacement Managed Service Partner right of reasonable

access to the Implementation Partner's premises and shall procure the IRCTC or its

nominated agency or its nominated agencies and any Replacement Managed Service Partner

rights of access to relevant third party premises during the exit management period and for

such period of time following termination or expiry of the MSA as is reasonably necessary to

migrate the services to the IRCTC or its nominated agency, or a Replacement Managed

Service Partner.

1.8 GENERAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE MANAGED SERVICE PARTNER

1.8.1 At any time, The Managed Service Partner shall provide all such information as may

reasonably be necessary to effect as seamless a handover as practicable in the

circumstances to the IRCTC or its nominated agency or its Replacement Managed Service

Partner and which the Managed Service Partner has in its possession or control at any time

during the exit management period.

1.8.2 For the purposes of this Schedule, anything in the possession or control of any Managed

Service Partner, associated entity, or sub-contractor is deemed to be in the possession or

control of the Managed Service Partner.

1.8.3 The Managed Service Partner shall commit adequate resources to comply with its obligations

under this Exit Management Schedule.

1.9 EXIT MANAGEMENT PLAN

1.9.1 The Managed Service Partner shall provide the IRCTC or its nominated agency with a

recommended exit management plan ("Exit Management Plan") which shall deal with at least

the following aspects of exit management in relation to the MSA as a whole and in relation to

the Project Implementation, and the Operation and Management SLA.

i. A detailed program of the transfer process that could be used in conjunction with a

Replacement Managed Service Partner including details of the means to be used to

ensure continuing provision of the services throughout the transfer process or until the

cessation of the services and of the management structure to be used during the transfer;

ii. plans for the communication with such of the Managed Service Partner's sub-contractors,

staff, Bidders, customers and any related third party as are necessary to avoid any

material detrimental impact on the IRCTC’s operations as a result of undertaking the

transfer;

iii. (if applicable) proposed arrangements for the segregation of the Managed Service

Partner's networks from the networks employed by IRCTC and identification of specific

security tasks necessary at termination;


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iv. Plans for provision of contingent support to IRCTC, and Replacement Managed Service

Partner for a reasonable period after transfer.

1.9.2 The Managed Service Partner shall re-draft the Exit Management Plan annually thereafter to

ensure that it is kept relevant and up to date.

1.9.3 Each Exit Management Plan shall be presented by the Managed Service Partner to and

approved by the IRCTC or its nominated agencies.

1.9.4 The terms of payment as stated in the Terms of Payment Schedule include the costs of the

Managed Service Partner complying with its obligations under this Schedule.

1.9.5 In the event of termination or expiry of MSA, and Project Implementation, each Party shall

comply with the Exit Management Plan.

1.9.6 During the exit management period, the Managed Service Partner shall use its best efforts to

deliver the services.

1.9.7 Payments during the Exit Management period shall be made in accordance with the Terms of

Payment Schedule.

1.9.8 This Exit Management plan shall be furnished in writing to the IRCTC or its nominated

agencies within 90 days from the Effective Date of this Agreement.


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SCHEDULE: III Audit, Access and Reporting

1.1 PURPOSE

1.1.1 This Schedule details the audit, access and reporting rights and obligations of the IRCTC or

its nominated agency and the Managed Service Partner.

1.2 AUDIT NOTICE AND TIMING

1.2.1 As soon as reasonably practicable after the Effective Date, the Parties shall use their best

endeavours to agree to a timetable for routine audits during the Project Implementation Phase

and the Operation and Management Phase. Such timetable during the Implementation

Phase, the IRCTC or its nominated agency and thereafter during the operation Phase, the

IRCTC or its nominated agency shall conduct routine audits in accordance with such agreed

timetable and shall not be required to give the Managed Service Partner any further notice of

carrying out such audits.

1.2.2 The IRCTC or its nominated agency may conduct non-timetabled audits at his/ her own

discretion if it reasonably believes that such non-timetabled audits are necessary as a result

of an act of fraud by the Managed Service Partner, a security violation, or breach of

confidentiality obligations by the Managed Service Partner, provided that the requirement for

such an audit is notified in writing to the Managed Service Partner a reasonable period time

prior to the audit (taking into account the circumstances giving rise to the reasonable belief)

stating in a reasonable level of detail the reasons for the requirement and the alleged facts on

which the requirement is based. If the Managed Service Partner considers that the non-

timetabled audit was not appropriate, the matter shall be referred to the escalation procedure

as set out in the Governance Schedule.

1.2.3 The frequency of audits shall be a (maximum) half yearly, provided always that the IRCTC or

its nominated agency shall endeavour to conduct such audits with the lowest levels of

inconvenience and disturbance practicable being caused to the Managed Service Partner.

Any such audit shall be conducted by with adequate notice of 2 weeks to the Managed

Service Partner.

1.2.4 IRCTC will ensure that any 3rd party agencies (except CAG) appointed to conduct the audit

will not be the competitor of Managed Service Partner and will be bound by confidentiality

obligations.

1.3 ACCESS

1.3.1 The Managed Service Partner shall provide to the IRCTC or its nominated agency reasonable

access to employees, subcontractors, Bidders, agents and third party facilities as detailed in

the RFP, documents, records and systems reasonably required for audit and shall provide all

such persons with routine assistance in connection with the audits and inspections. The

Chairperson, PIU / Steering Committee shall have the right to copy and retain copies of any

relevant records. The Managed Service Partner shall make every reasonable effort to co-

operate with them.


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1.4 AUDIT RIGHTS

1.4.1 The IRCTC or its nominated agency shall have the right to audit and inspect Bidders, agents

and third party facilities (as detailed in the RFP), data centres, documents, records,

procedures and systems relating to the provision of the services, but only to the extent that

they relate to the provision of the services, as shall be reasonably necessary to verify:

i. The security, integrity and availability of all data processed, held or conveyed by the

Partner on behalf of IRCTC and documentation related thereto;

ii. That the actual level of performance of the services is the same as specified in the SLA;

iii. That the Managed Service Partner has complied with the relevant technical standards, and

has adequate internal controls in place; and

iv. The compliance of the Managed Service Partner with any other obligation under the MSA

and SLA.

v. Security audit and implementation audit of the system shall be done once each year, the

cost of which shall be borne by the Managed Service Partner.

vi. For the avoidance of doubt the audit rights under this Schedule shall not include access to

the Managed Service Partner's profit margins or overheads, any confidential information

relating to the Managed Service Partner’ employees, or (iii) minutes of its internal Board or

vii. Board committee meetings including internal audit, or (iv) such other information of

commercial-in-confidence nature which are not relevant to the Services associated with

any obligation under the MSA.

viii. IRCTC has the right to listen to any call at any given point of time

ix. IRCTC has the right to see the template of any message at any given point of time to

ensure consistency and quality in service delivery

1.5 AUDIT RIGHTS OF SUB-CONTRACTORS, BIDDERS AND AGENTS

1.5.1 The Managed Service Partner shall use reasonable endeavours to achieve the same audit

and access provisions as defined in this Schedule with sub-contractors who supply labour,

services in respect of the services. The Managed Service Partner shall inform the IRCTC or

its nominated agency prior to concluding any sub-contract or supply agreement of any failure

to achieve the same rights of audit or access

1.5.2 REPORTING: The Managed Service Partner will provide quarterly reports to the Chairperson,

PIU / Steering committee regarding any specific aspects of the Project and in context of the

audit and access information as required by the IRCTC or its nominated agency.

1.6 ACTION AND REVIEW

1.6.1 Any change or amendment to the systems and procedures of the Managed Service Partner,

or subcontractors, where applicable arising from the audit report shall be agreed within thirty

(30) calendar days from the submission of the said report.

1.6.2 Any discrepancies identified by any audit pursuant to this Schedule shall be immediately

notified to the IRCTC or its nominated agency and the Managed Service Partner Project

Manager who shall determine what action should be taken in respect of such discrepancies in

accordance with the terms of the MSA.

1.7 TERMS OF PAYMENT

1.7.1 The IRCTC shall bear the cost of any audits and inspections. The terms of payment are

exclusive of any costs of the Managed Service Partner and the sub-contractor, for all

reasonable assistance and information provided under the MSA, the Project Implementation,

Operation and Management SLA by the Managed Service Partner pursuant to this Schedule.

1.8 RECORDS AND INFORMATION


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1.8.1 For the purposes of audit in accordance with this Schedule, the Managed Service Partner

shall maintain true and accurate records in connection with the provision of the services and

the Managed Service Partner shall handover all the relevant records and documents upon the

termination or expiry of the MSA

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SCHEDULE: IV Governance Schedule

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Schedule is to:

i. establish and maintain the formal and informal processes for managing the relationship

between the IRCTC and the Managed Service Partner (including the outputs from other

Schedules to this Agreement;

ii. define the principles that both Parties wish to follow to ensure the delivery of the Services;

iii. ensure the continued alignment of the interests of the Parties;

iv. ensure that the relationship is maintained at the correct level within each Party;

v. create the flexibility to revise and maintain the relationship and this Agreement during the

Term;

vi. set out the procedure for escalating disagreements; and

vii. enable contract administration and performance management.

2. GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

i. Project Managers: The relationship under this Agreement will be managed by the Project

Managers appointed by each Party, who will provide the interface between the executive

management of the respective Parties.

ii. Project Implementation Unit (PIU): Within 7 days following the Effective Date, IRCTC or its

nominated agencies and the Managed Service Partner shall each appoint a Project

Manager. In the event that either Party wishes to substitute its Project Manager it will do so in

manner in which the original appointment is made and notify the other Party of such

substitution as soon as reasonably practicable but at the latest within 7 days of the

substitution.

iii. The Project Managers shall have responsibility for maintaining the interface and

communication between the Parties.

iv. The PIU will meet formally on a fortnightly / monthly / quarterly, as required, basis at a time

and location to be agreed between them. These meetings will cover, as a minimum, the

following agenda items: (i) consideration of Quarterly Performance Reports; (ii) consideration

of matters arising out of the Change Control Schedule; (iii) issues escalated in accordance

with the escalation procedure as set out in the Governance Schedule; (iv) matters to be

brought before the PIU in accordance with the MSA and the Schedules; (v) any matter

brought before the PIU by the Managed Service Partner under this Article; and (vi) any other

issue which either Party wishes to add to the agenda.

v. In the event that there is any material factor which affects the delivery of the Services or the

terms of payment as stated in the Terms of Payment Schedule, the Parties agree to discuss

in the PIU any appropriate amendment to the Agreement or any Service Level Agreements

or Statement of Works including any variation to the terms of payment as stated in the Terms

of Payment Schedule. Any variation so agreed shall be implemented through the change

control procedure as set out in the Change Control Schedule.

vi. The other Party ("Respondent") shall have the right to respond to the Dispute Notice within 7

days after receipt of the Dispute Notice. In the event that the parties are unable to resolve the

Disputed Matter within a further period of 7 days, it shall refer the Disputed Matter to next

level of the dispute resolution for action as per the process mentioned in article 9.1

vii. All negotiations, statements and / or documentation pursuant to these Articles shall be

without prejudice and confidential (unless mutually agreed otherwise).

viii. If the Disputed Matter is having a material effect on the operation of the Services (or any of

them or part of them) the Parties will use all their respective reasonable endeavours to

reduce the elapsed time in reaching a resolution of the Disputed Matter.

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SCHEDULE-V: Service Level Agreement

1.1 Service Level Agreement is to clearly define the levels of service which shall be provided by the

selected Bidder to IRHES 139. The SLAs mentioned in this section makes explicit the

expectations that IRCTC has for performance, from the selected Bidder. SLA helps IRCTC

control the deliverables, agreed levels and performance of Bidder.

1.2 The Service Levels mentioned in this section define the levels of service which shall be delivered

by the Call Centre Service Provider for the duration of the contract and shall be applicable on the

Call Centre Service Provider from the date of start of project

1.3 The Selected Bidder shall agree to the following service level agreement (SLA) parameters while

providing Contact Centre services to IRHES’s stakeholders. These SLAs shall be tracked on a

periodic basis and are envisaged to have penalty and or liquidation damage clauses on non-

adherence to any of them.

The SLA parameters are divided into 2 (two) types:

i. One-Time SLA Parameters.

ii. Operational SLA Parameters.

1.4 Service Level Agreement Applicability

The One-Time SLA parameters noted below in the Service Level Agreement will start to be

applicable from the date of award of Letter of Intent (LoI) and operational SLA parameters after

the Go-Live of Contact Centre.

IRCTC’s authorized resources/partners will audit the Contact Centre facility for organized audit to

be done with a week’s notice to the bidder. IRCTC or its authorized partners shall audit the

Contact Centre sites, procedures, reviews of Customer Service Executive’s, etc. IRCTC will

conduct (either itself or through appointed third parties) performance and response audits (e.g.

calling / Barge-in online and offline), process audits, site visits, to ensure service quality

management. The minimum standards to be met are given in the SLA specifications in this

document.

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1.5 SLA Parameters

1.5.1 One-Time Service Levels

S. no Service level Definition Measurement Criteria Timeline Liquidated

Damages

ONETIME SERVICELEVELS

1. On-boarding of all

Resources and

Commencement of services

Commence the service as

per the scope of work

Within7daysfromthedate of

signing the contract between

the Purchaser and the Call

Centre Service

Provider

Within 7 days from the date

of signing the contract

between the Purchaser

and the Call Centre

Service Provider

Nil

Delay of every 7 days from

7th day of the date of

singing the contract

between the Purchaser

and the Call

Centre Service Provider

1% of Security Deposit

(SD) for every 7 days

delay Capped at total

value of SD

Quarter shall be

deemed to have started

on the day when the

IRHES is Go-Live.

2. Attending training of each agent (master trainer) at IRCTC

As defined in the “training”

section 6.4.4 basis of the

work shop arranged by

IRCTC

100%attendance Attendance<100% ₹5,000 per

Resource being

absent

3. First cut Submission of performance dashboard

Thefirstcutoftheperformancedashboardshallbepreparedandsubmittedto IRCTC for review and feedback.

The first cut of the performance dashboard shall contain all the operational service levels mentioned in

Within15calendardays(includingthe15thday) from the date of go-live

Nil


Page 82 of 191


Damages

this RFP with at least 10 days of operational data.

>15calendardaysfromthedateofgo-live.

1% of Security Deposit (SD) for every 7 days delay Capped at total value of SD Quarter shall be deemed to have started on the day when the IRHES is Go-Live.

4. Final Submission of

performance

dashboard

Final performance

dashboard with due

Incorporation of any

changes suggested by

IRCTC.

Final performance dashboard

With due incorporation of any

Changes suggested by

IRCTC.

Within 20 calendars

days (including the

20thday) from the

date of suggestions received from IRCTC.

Nil

>20 calendar days (including the 20th day) from the date of suggestions received From IRCTC

1% of Security Deposit (SD) for every 7 days delay Capped at total value of SD

Quarter shall be deemed to have started on the day when the IRHES is Go-Live.

5. Submission of training module & test process

As defined in the “training”

section 6.4.4 basis on the

workshop arranged by

IRCTC, the selected Call

Centre Service Provider is

expected to develop a

training module & a test

process for on-barding of

future resources and submit

the same to IRCTC for

The training module & test process should cover all the aspects of process given by IRCTC covered during the

workshop.

Within 10 calendar days (including the 10th day) from the date of go-live.

Nil

> 10 calendar days (including the 10th day) from the date of go-live.

1% of Security Deposit (SD) for every 7 days delay Capped at total value of SD Quarter shall be deemed to have started on the day


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Damages

review and approval. when the IRHES is Go-Live.

6. Final submission of training module & test process.

Final training module & test process with due incorporation of any changes suggested by IRCTC.

Final training module & test process with due incorporation of any changes suggested by IRCTC.

Within 10 calendar days (including the 10th day) from the Date of suggestions received from IRCTC.

Nil

>10 calendar days (including the 10th day) from the date of suggestions received from IRCTC.

1% of Security Deposit (SD) for every 7 days delay Capped at total value of SD Quarter shall be deemed to have started on the day when the IRHES is Go-Live.

7. Go-live of the call center

As defined in scope of work Within 90 days of signing of contract

Delay of every 1 day up to 10th day beyond which IRCTC may choose to terminate the contract

Rs. 30,000 per day of delay capped at Rs.3,00,000


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1.6 Operational

This section details the various indicative Operational service levels to be adhered to by the selected bidder. Deviations from the agreed upon performance

will be consistently measured and severity level for non-compliance will be assigned.

The selected Bidder is required to manage the entire customer support process. The Contact Centre team is required to manage customer queries in the

most efficient and effective manner.

1. The IRHES are to be provided 24x7x365 basis. However, it may be noted that about 90% of calls are expected to be serviced between 06:00 to

00:00hours.

2. The overall availability of IRHES shall be 99.5% on daily basis.

3. In no single instance IRHES failure shall exceed 02 hours. There shall, however, be a provision for scheduled maintenance downtime during the lean

traffic hours which shall be fixed in coordination with IRCTC.

4. The total number of IRHES system failures affecting the services should not exceed 2 (two) per month.

5. The average call waiting time per day for calls required to be serviced by Agents on transfer from IVRS or on direct calls (for PES) shall be less than

or equal to 30 seconds for 95% of the calls.

6. The average call waiting time at IVRS per day shall be less than or equal to 3 seconds.

7. The SLA parameters specified above shall be reviewed by IRCTC periodically in coordination with the MSP.

8. The REF shall have to provide adequate IVRS capacity and update the response call flow structure in such a way so as to ensure that at least 85% of

the calls coming to the Call Centre are disposed-off by the IVRS.

9. IRCTC shall conduct random Quality of Service (QoS) Audits with respect to quality parameters such as manner in which the callers are greeted,

encouraging the callers to use the service in future, overall experience of the caller etc. The evaluation mechanism used for these quality audits shall

be based on Weighted Scores with a minimum threshold defined for acceptable quality, the details of which including penalties and incentives shall

be worked out in coordination with the MSP.

10. IRCTC shall gain customer feedback with respect to their satisfaction level for various services offered from IRHES through medium like SMS as well

websites of Indian Railways / IRCTC.

11. The MSP shall submit reports on all the SLA parameters defined in this section to IRCTC in accordance with the specified formats and reporting

periods. IRCTC may ask the MSP to provide clarifications on these reports as well as the measurement tools and processes utilized by the MSP for

reporting. IRCTC shall verify the veracity of these reports by conducting Audits on its own or by using the services of an external Auditor. MSP shall

extend full cooperation for conducting such audits.

12. Penalties & Incentives given below are applicable for the sizing parameters given above. In case of significant increase in call traffic, sizing

parameters will be reviewed by IRCTC &MSP jointly. MSP shall do the up-gradation and reorientation in the minimum possible time and Penalties &

Incentives shall not be applicable during this period.

Operational SLAs


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1.6.1 Inbound Voice Calls

Applicability Inbound voice calls.

Definition This is the percentage of calls that are answered by the call center agents within a specified time period

Formulae Calls Answered within a threshold of 30 seconds across all languages/(Total Calls offered across all

languages -Abandoned calls with less than or equal to 5 seconds queue time across all languages)

Measurement Interval Reporting period Target Penalty

Daily Quarterly >95% Nil

>= 90% and <95% 1% of invoice billed value

>= 85% and <90% 2% of invoice billed value

< 85% 5% of invoice billed value

1.6.2 Call abandoned rate


Definition The % of inbound voice calls that are requested for an agent but got disconnected before being answered by the agent. (Only calls that get disconnected after 10 seconds after being transferred from IVRS to ACD queue will be considered for computation of this service level).

Formulae (Total Abandoned calls across all languages–Abandoned calls with less than or equal to 5 seconds queue

time across all languages)/Total Calls Offered across all languages.


Daily Quarterly <= 3% Nil

>= 3% and<5% 3% of invoice billed value

>= 5% and<10% 5%of invoice billed value

>10% 10% of invoice billed value

1.6.3 Caller’s Satisfaction

Applicability Inbound and out bound voice calls. Applicable to both on agents and IVRS


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Definition This is the measure of caller’s satisfaction with the way their query/complaint has been handled by the agent and/or IVRS. The Call Centre Service Provider shall be responsible for maintaining a minimum level of Caller satisfaction based on the criteria defined by IRCTC. The satisfaction level of callers shall be collected on a five-pointer scale of 5: “Highly satisfied”, 4: “Satisfied” 3:“Average”, 2:“Dissatisfied” and1: “Highly Dissatisfied”

Formulae (Sum of - 5:“Highly satisfied”, 4:“Satisfied”)/Total number of surveys


Daily Quarterly >= 90% Nil

>= 85% but <90% 2% of invoice billed value

>= 80% but <85% 5% of invoice billed value

1.6.4 Interactions of Record Percentage

Applicability All Interactions

Definition To measure percentage of interactions recorded in CRM system.

Formulae Number of cases created or modified in CRM system/Number of Interactions


Daily Quarterly >=95% Nil

>=90% but <95% 2% of invoice billed value

>85% but <=90% 3%of invoice billed value

<85% 5%of invoice billed value

1.6.5 Average Hold Time

Applicability Inbound & Outbound voice calls.

Definition This is measured as the average time a call was put on hold by the Call Centre Agents

Formulae Total Hold Time (Inbound + Outbound)/(Sum of Inbound Calls Handled + Sum of Outbound Calls)


Page 87 of 191


Daily Quarterly <= 20 seconds Nil

>20 seconds but <=30seconds 2%of invoice billed value

>30 seconds but <=35seconds 3%of invoice billed value

>35 seconds 5%of invoice billed value

1.6.6 Average wrap time


Definition This is measured as the average time spent by the Ex./Sr. Ex. In wrap mode.

Formulae Total wrap Time/(Sum of Inbound Calls Handled + Sum of Outbound Calls)


Daily Quarterly <=5 seconds Nil

>5 seconds but <= 10 seconds 2%of invoice billed value

>10 seconds but <= 15 seconds 3%of invoice billed value

>15 seconds 5%of invoice billed value


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1.6.7 Jingle/ Advertisement playing platform

Applicability Jingle/ Advertisement playing platform:

Definition Jingle played in the system during call hold. This SLA is applicable only during those times when there is availability of jingles

or advertisements and after permission from IRCTC.

Formulae It will be calculated based on formula ―Total uptime in minutes/ Total minutes of operations in the selected period.


Daily Quarterly >=99.5% Nil

>=98.7% and <99.5% 1%of invoice billed value

>=97% but <98.7% 2%of invoice billed value

>= 95% but< 97% 3%of invoice billed value

< 95% 5% of invoice billed Value

1.6.8 System Uptime


Definition Voice response available to citizen

Formulae Total uptime in minutes/ Total minutes of operations in the selected period


Daily Quarterly >= 99.5% Nil

>= 98.7% and <99.5% 1%of invoice billed value


Page 89 of 191


>=97% but <98.7% 2%of invoice billed value

>= 95% but< 97% 3%of invoice billed value

< 95% 5% of invoice billed Value

Please note that the SLAs defined above will be calculated on the daily pro-rata bills. All the penalties to be levied will be added at the end of each

quarter and the penalties shall be accordingly adjusted with the quarterly payments.

1.7 Monitoring of Service Level Agreements

i. The SLA parameters shall be monitored on a periodic basis as per the individual SLA parameter requirements. However, if the performance of the system/services is degraded significantly at any given point in time during the contract and if the immediate measures are not implemented and issues are not rectified to the complete satisfaction of IRCTC or an agency designated by them, then IRCTC will have the right to take appropriate disciplinary actions including termination of the contract.

ii. The full set of service level reports should be available to the IRCTC on a monthly basis or based on the project requirements. iii. The Monitoring Tools shall play a critical role in monitoring the SLA compliance and hence will have to be customized accordingly. The CCSP shall

make available the Monitoring tools for measuring and monitoring the SLAs. The CCSP may deploy additional tools and develop additional scripts (if required) for capturing the required data for SLA report generation in automated way.

iv. The tools should generate the SLA Monitoring report in the end of every month which is to be shared with the IRCTC on a monthly basis. v. IRCTC or its nominated agency shall have full access to the Monitoring Tools/portal (and any other tools / solutions deployed for SLA measurement

and monitoring) to extract data (raw, intermediate as well as reports) as required during the project. vi. IRCTC or its nominated agency will also audit the tool and the scripts on a regular basis. vii. The measurement methodology / criteria / logic will be reviewed by the Department. viii. Other information about SLA monitoring tool is mentioned at 6.5.3.3


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Section IV: Bid Submission Formats


Page 91 of 191

5 Section IV: Bid Submission Formats and Service Level

Agreement (SLA)

5.1 Bidder’s Self Information

1. Bidder’s Proposal number and date:

2. Name of address of the Bidder (All partners in case of a Joint Venture)

3. Names and addresses of all directors of the company (All partners in case of JV)

4. Name and address of the officer to whom all references shall be made regarding this tender

enquiry with fax and telephone number

5. Turnover of last 3 financial years:

6. Collaboration, if any:

7. Name and address of the officer to whom all references shall be made regarding this tender

enquiry. His/her telephone, mobile, fax and email.

8. Any other point tenderer may like to specify.

Signature: Name/designation:

Company name/address:

Seal:

Signature:

Date:


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5.2 Prime/Lead Bidder and Joint Venture (JV) detail

<<On non-judicial stamp paper of appropriate value to be purchased in the name of

executant’s companies or as required by the jurisdiction in which executed>>

This Joint Venture Agreement executed on this ................ day of........................... Two

Thousand ………………. By:

M/s. .....................................a Company incorporated under the laws of........................and

having its registered office at............................. (Hereinafter called the “Lead

Member/First Member” which expression shall include its successors);

And

M/s. …....................... a Company incorporated under the laws of

.......................................and having its registered office at.......................... (Hereinafter called

the “Second Member” which expression shall include its successors)

The Lead Member/First Member and the Second Member shall collectively hereinafter be

called as the “JV Members” for the purpose of submitting a proposal (hereinafter called as

“Bid”) for the work of ………………………(Name of project) of IRCTC (hereinafter called the

“Owner”) in response to Request for Proposal Document (hereinafter called as ”tender”

Document) Dated………….. for the purposes of submitting the bid no. ………….

………………………….and entering into a contract in case of award for the work of ……

(Name of work) ………………………

WHEREAS, the IRCTC invited bids vide its tender document no. …………………for the work

of…………AND WHEREAS as per document, JV bids will also be considered by the IRCTC

provided they meet the specific requirements in that regard.

AND WHEREAS the bid is being submitted to the purchaser vide proposal dated …………

based on the JV Agreement and the bid with its forms and submission documents, in

accordance with the requirement of tender conditions and requirements have been signed by

all the partners and submitted to the Owner.

AND WHEREAS Clause <> of tender document stipulates that a JV of maximum <2>

companies, meeting the requirements stipulated in the tender document may submit a

Proposal signed by Lead Member of the JV Members so as to legally bind both the Members

of the JV to the IRCTC and duly signed JV Agreement shall be attached to the Proposal.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants of the members of the JV, the

sufficiency whereof is hereby acknowledged and other good valuable consideration, we agree

as follows:

1. We the members in the JV hereby confirm that the name and style of the JV shall

be…………….

2. M/s. ......................................shall act as Lead Member for self, and for and on behalf of M/s

……………………. (Second Member) and further declare and confirm that we shall jointly and

severally be bound unto the purchase for the successful performance of the obligations under

the Request for Proposal (tender) and resulting Contact Agreement(s) submitted / executed by


Page 93 of 191

the Lead Member in the event of the selection of JV. Further, the Lead member is authorized to

incur liabilities and receive instructions for and on behalf of any or all partners of the Joint

Venture.

3. The composition or the constitution of the JV shall not be altered without the prior consent of

the IRCTC..

4. The roles and responsibilities of the lead member and second member of the JV for execution

of various components/activities as defined in the tender document shall be as under:

S. No. Project

Component/Activity

Roles

&Responsibility

of Lead Member

Roles &Responsibility

of JV Member(s)

1

2

3

4

5. It is agreed that the lead member shall be liable for the entire scope of work and risks involved

thereof. It is also agreed that non-lead member of the JV shall be held equally responsible

along with the lead member for the obligations under the tender Document, Contract and this

Agreement, as per the scope of work, roles and responsibility agreed in this agreement.

6. For the purpose of this Agreement, the tender Document and the Contract, the Lead member

shall be the single point of contact for the IRCTC, shall have the overall responsibility of the

management of the Project and shall have single point responsibility for ensuring that both the

members of the JV are complying with the terms and conditions set out in the Contract and the

tender Document.

7. If IRCTC suffers any loss or damage on account of any breach in the stipulation of the

Agreements to be entered into by the JV Members, upon its selection pursuant to tender (the

"Agreements") or any shortfall in the performance of the Transaction or in meeting the

performances guaranteed as per the tender and the Agreements, the JV Members hereby

jointly and severally undertake to promptly make good such loss or damages caused to IRCTC

on its demand without any demur or contest. The Owner shall have the right to proceed against

anyone of the partners and it shall neither be necessary nor obligatory on the part of the

purchaser (IRCTC) to proceed against the Lead bidder before proceeding against or dealing

with the other Member.

8. The financial liability of the Joint Venture Members to the IRCTC, with respect to any of the

claims arising out of the performance or non-performance of obligations under the tender and

the resulting Agreement(s) shall not be limited so as to restrict or limit the liabilities of any of the

Members.

9. It is expressly agreed by the both the Members that all the due payments shall be made by the

IRCTC in the name of Joint Venture. In case Joint Venture is to made due payments to IRCTC,

both the JV members will be responsible to clear the due payments of IRCTC timely.

10. This JV agreement shall be construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of India and

the Courts of Delhi shall have the exclusive jurisdiction in all matters arising there under.

11. It is also hereby agreed that Lead Member shall, on behalf of the JV shall submit the Bid and

performance Security as specified by purchase in the tender document.


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12. It is further agreed that this JV Agreement shall be irrevocable and shall continue to be

enforceable till the same is discharged by IRCTC

13. This Agreement shall come into force as of the date of signing and shall continue in full force

and effect until the complete discharge of all obligations, concerning the carrying out of the

Project, which have been taken on by the Parties under the Contract, tender Document and

under this Agreement.

14. Any other terms and conditions not in contradiction to the tender and above-mentioned terms

and conditions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Members to the Joint Venture agreement have through their

authorised representatives executed these presents and affixed common seal of their companies,

on the day, month and year first mentioned above.

For ……………………...

(Signature, Name & Title)

For …………...................

(Signature, Name & Title)

(Executants) (To be executed by both the Members of the JV)

Witnesses: 1.

2.


Page 95 of 191

Note:

The mode of execution of the Power of Attorney should be in accordance with the

procedure, if any, laid down by the applicable law and the charter documents of

the executants (s) and when it is so required, the same should be under common

seal affixed in accordance with the required procedure.

Wherever required, the Bidder should submit for verification the extract of the

charter documents and documents such as a board or shareholders resolution/

power of attorney in favour of the person executing this Power of Attorney for the

delegation of power hereunder on behalf of the Bidder.

For a Power of Attorney executed and issued overseas, the document will also

have to be legalised by the Indian Embassy and notarised in the jurisdiction where

the Power of Attorney is being issued. However, the Power of Attorney provided by

Bidders from countries that have signed the Hague Legislation Convention 1961

are not required to be legalised by the Indian Embassy if it carries a conforming

Appostille certificate.


Page 96 of 191

5.3 Undertaking that Bidder is not Blacklisted/Insolvency

Undertaking that Bidder is not Blacklisted by any Govt. of India Agency/PSU

(On Bidder/firm/ company/ organization’s letter head)

I …………………………………… (name) ………………………………………………….,

(Designation & Address) and authorized signatory for the management of

………………………………………………………………………………. (Name & Address of

the firm/ company/ organization)

DO HEREBY SOLEMNLY AFFIRM AND DECLARE AS UNDER:

1. We are not be currently blacklisted or not have appeared our name in the negative / black list of any public sector undertaking /Government organization from the last three years to the date of opening of the bid for any breach of applicable laws or violation of regulatory prescriptions or breach of agreement.

2. Our company have not suffered bankruptcy/insolvency during last 5 years.

3. In competing for (and, if the award is made to us, in executing) the above contract, we will strictly observe the laws against fraud and corruption in force in India.

Enclosure (IF ANY):

Signature of the authorized signatory:

Name & Designation of authorized signatory:

Name of the Firm/Company

Office Address of the Firm:

Mobile/Contact Details:

Date:


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5.4 Response to Eligibility and Evaluation Criteria (Refer Clause 2.25 & 2.26 of Section-

II- Instructions to Bidders)

The Bidder is required to fill relevant information in the format given below. The pre-qualification

and technical bid i.e., Packet A must contain documentary evidences and supporting information

as asked in Clause in clause 2.25 & 2.26 of Section-II Instructions to Bidders of the tender

document, so as to enable purchaser to evaluate the eligibility of the Bidder without ambiguity.

S.

No Criteria

Criteria

description

Supporting

Document

Response

(Yes / No)

Reference in

Response to Pre-

Qualification &

Technical Bid

(Section # and Page #)


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5.5 Project Details

Project Experience Details

For Prime Bidder (please specify) ____________________________

Name of the project: Location:

Project Value: (in INR Crores):

Status: (Complete / Ongoing / Phase Completed)

Client Name: Client Address:

Brief description of the project:

Actual Services provided in the project:

Work Order/Engagement Letter No. (Copy to be enclosed):

Completion Certificate (Copy to be enclosed):

Bidder:

Signature ------------------------

Name ------------------------

Designation ------------------------

Company ------------------------

Date ------------------------


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5.6 Manpower Details

Details of Manpower for the project

S. No.

Name Current Position in the Firm

Name of the Firm

Proposed Position

Age Qualifications

Total Experience in years

Total relevant experience in years

1

2

3

4

5

Bidder:

Signature ------------------------

Name ------------------------

Designation ------------------------

Company ------------------------

Date ------------------------


Page 100 of 191

5.7 CV Format

1. Proposed Position:

2. Name of Firm and Role

3. Name of Staff:

4. Position held in Firm

5. Date of Birth: Nationality:

6. Education:

Year Degree/Examination Institute/Board

7. Membership of

Professional

Associations:

8. Other Training:

9. Countries of Work

Experience:

10. Languages:

Language Speaking Reading Writing

11.

Employment Record:

From To Employer Positions Held

12. Detailed Tasks Assigned: 13. Work Undertaken that best illustrates capability to handle

the tasks assigned:

14. Certification:

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

me, my qualifications, my experienceand my committed man-months for this project. I understand

that any wilful misstatement described herein may lead to my disqualification or dismissal, if

engaged.

Signature of the staff Date:


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Full name of authorised representative:

Bidder:

Signature ------------------------

Name ------------------------

Designation ------------------------

Company ------------------------

Date ------------------------


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5.8 Technical Bid Submission Letter

<<On Bidder / Lead Bidder Letterhead>>

Date:

To


GGM/Services, Punj House, M-13 Connaught Place

New Delhi- 110001

Subject: Response to Request for Proposal (RFP) for “Selection of Managed Service

Partner (MSP) for Integrated Railways Helpline and Enquiry System -139)”

Dear Sir,

1. Being duly authorized to represent and act for and on behalf of _______________ (herein the applicant) and having studied and fully understood all the information provided in the Bid document, related clarification, corrigendum/addendum on the tender document subsequently issued, the undersigned hereby apply as a bidder for franchising of Integrated Railway Helpline and Enquiry System (IRHES) according to the terms & conditions of the offer made by IRCTC. I/We have also visited the project site for the assessment and have made our own due diligence and assessment regarding the project.

2. I/We hereby request to be qualified with the IRCTC as a bidder for<Project Title>

against Tender No. <.......................>. I / We declare that all the services shall be

performed strictly in accordance with the tender documents and we agree to all the terms

and conditions in the tender.

3. Bid Securing Declaration as applicable in place of EMD is submitted duly signed by

authorized signatory on the bidder’s company letter head.

4. I / We confirm that I / we am / are withdrawing all the deviations, counter clauses,

proposed modifications in the Scope of work, Terms and Conditions, Functional

Requirement Specifications and Technical Specifications which may have been

mentioned in our proposal.

5. We authorize IRCTC or their authorized representatives to conduct any investigations to

verify the statements, documents and information submitted and to clarify the financial

and technical aspects of this application. For this purpose, we hereby authorize (any

public official, engineer, bank, depository, manufacturer, distributor, etc.) or any other

person or firm to furnish pertinent information deemed necessary and requested by

IRCTC to verify statements and information provided in this application or regarding our

competence and standing.

6. The names and positions of persons who may be contacted for further information, if

required, are as follows:

Name: ________________________________

Designation: ________________________________

Telephone: ________________________________

E-mail id: ________________________________

7. We declare that the statements made, and the information provided in the duly completed

application to IRCTC of our knowledge, are complete, true and correct in every detail. On

verification at any time in the future if it is found that information furnished with this


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application and statements made therein are not true, incomplete or incorrect, we hereby

authorize IRCTC to reject our application.

8. We confirm having submitted the information as required by you in Qualification Criteria.

In case you require any other further information / documentary proof in this regard

before evaluation of our bid, we agree to furnish the same in time to your satisfaction.

9. We undertake, if our proposal is accepted, to provide all the services related to “Project

Title” put forward in the bid document or such features as may subsequently be mutually

agreed between us and IRCTC or its appointed representatives.

10. We agree for unconditional acceptance of all the terms and conditions set out in the bid

document and agree to abide by this bid response for a period of 180 days from the date

fixed for bid opening and it shall remain binding upon us with full force and virtue. Till a

formal contract is prepared and executed, this bid response, together with your written

acceptance thereof in your notification of award, shall constitute a binding contract

between us and IRCTC.

11. We hereby declare that in case the contract is awarded to us, we will submit Security

Deposit (Performance Security Deposit) of INR 1,66,60,000.00 only in the form

prescribed in the tender.

12. I/We understand that IRCTC reserves the right to reject any application without assigning

any reason thereof.

13. I/We hereby undertake that I/We have not made any payment or illegal gratification to

any person/authority connected with the bid process to influence the bid process and

have not committed any offence under the PC Act in connection with the bid.

14. All the prices mentioned in our Tender are in accordance with the terms as specified in

the tender documents. All the prices and other terms and conditions of this Bid are valid

for a period of 180 calendar days from the date of opening of the Bid.

15. We hereby confirm that our prices are inclusive of all type of expenses as required for the

complete project, excluding GST on quoted price.

16. We understand that the actual payment would be payable/ made as per the existing tax

rates during the time of payment in the original currency of contract.

17. I/We do hereby confirm to deliver the latest versions of the software and hardware as

available on the date of delivery on mutually agreed terms, that addresses the

requirements of IRCTC.

18. We further confirm that the prices stated in our bid are in accordance with your Instruction

to Bidders and terms & conditions of the Tender documents.

19. In case you require any other further information/ documentary proof before/ during

evaluation of our Tender, we agree to furnish the same in time to your satisfaction.

20. We declare that our Bid Price is for the entire scope of the work as specified in the tender

document. These prices are indicated in Commercial Bid submitted as part of the

requirements of Tender.

21. I/We do hereby undertake that commercial proposal (financial bid) submitted by us is

inclusive of all the items in the technical proposal and is inclusive of all the clarification

provided/may be provided by us on the technical proposal during the evaluation of the

technical offer. We understand and agree that our commercial proposal is firm and final,

and shall any clarifications sought by you and provided by us would not have any impact

on the commercial proposal submitted by us.

22. Our commercial proposal shall be binding upon us subject to the modifications resulting

from Contract negotiations, up to expiration of the validity period of the Proposal.

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


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24. We hereby declare that our Tender is made in good faith, without collusion or fraud and

the information contained in the Tender is true and correct to the IRCTC of our knowledge

and belief.

25. I/We shall disclose any payments made or proposed to be made to any intermediaries

(agents, etc.) in connection with the bid.

26. We also agree that until a formal agreement is prepared and executed, the issuance of

purchase order/LoA shall constitute a binding contract between us as per the terms and

conditions of the tender document subject to modification, as may be mutually agreed to

between us as indicated in the letter of acceptance of our offer for this work.

27. We declare that we have read through the Tender document, all related clarifications and

corrigendum.

28. A notice or letter of communication addressed to me/us at the given address given in the

Bid, even by ordinary post/email, will be deemed to be valid and proper notice of

intimation to me/us.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully

(Signature of the Authorized signatory of the Sole Bidder/ Lead Bidder)

Name :

Designation :

Date :

Company Seal :

Business Address :


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5.9 Manufacturer’s Authorization Form

<<To be submitted on the Company Letter head of the OEM>> Dated:


GGM/Services, Punj House, M-13 Connaught Place New Delhi- 110001 Sub: Authorization of <company name of Bidder> to Provide Services Based on Our

Product(s)

Sir,

1. This is to certify that I/We am/are the Original Equipment Manufacturer in respect of the

products listed below. I/We confirm that <name of Bidder> have due authorization from

us to provide services, to IRCTC, that are based on our product(s) listed below as per

Request for Proposal document titled <Title> We further endorse the warranty and

contracting terms provided by bidder to IRCTC.

2. I/We are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in respect of the products listed.

I/We do hereby undertake that our products being installed by <Bidder Name >, pursuant

to the Request for Proposal (tender) document relating to providing of the

Implementation, Information Technology Infrastructure and System Integration services

to IRCTC, will be inspected to ensure they are installed, commissioned and supported to

the IRCTC of the operating characteristics of these applications equipment.

3. I/We also undertake that we will provide support to IRCTC in quality of deliverables and

in ensuring that the solution is implemented in the IRCTC of ways by exploiting all the

capabilities offered by the solution, to meet the requirements of IRCTC I/We also

undertake that we will support all the customizations made on our product by the SI to

meet the requirements of IRCTC.

4. I/We hereby confirm that the support including spares and upgrades for the quoted

products shall be available for the minimum period of 5 years from date of supply

5. I/We hereby confirm that OEM undertaking to provide warranty/support for minimum

period of 5 years for supplied component and have back to back warranty/support

arrangement with the <Bidder Name> to ensure smooth operations.

6. I/We hereby confirm that OEM of product offered have 24x7x365 Technical support with

operation toll free number in INDIA

S. No. Product Name Remarks

Yours faithfully,

Authorised Signatory

Designation

OEM’s company name

CC: Bidder’s corporate name


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5.10 Overview of Proposed Solution

Please provide relevant details on Solutions & Services specific to Bidder’s proposal in the form

of following write ups

Form 3.10.1: Proposed Solution

a. Component 1

1.

2.

3.

4.

b. Component 2

1.

2.

3.

c. Component 3

1.

2.

3.

d. Component 4

1.

2.

3.

e. Component 5

4.

5.

6.

Methodology & Detailed Project Plan

1. Bidder should cover details of the methodology proposed to be adopted for providing services

relating to project implementation.

2. The Bidder is required to include his understanding of the requirements, Solution

architecture, Deployment Strategy and Implementation Plan in his approach and

methodology.

3. Bidder is expected to provide details of the organization structure proposed for the execution

of this contract. This should cover the composition of the complete team including the sub-

contractors, and their escalation matrix.


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4. An Implementation Plan in the form of a Detailed Project Plan covering break-up of each

phase into the key activities, along with the start and end dates must be provided as per

format given below.

Form 3.10.2: Detailed Project Plan

Activity-wise Timelines

S. No. Item of Activity Month wise Program

1 2 3 4 5 …

Project Plan

1 Activity 1

1.1 Sub-Activity 1

1.2 Sub-Activity 2

2

2.1

2.2

3

3.1

4

Note: The above activity chart is just for the purpose of illustration. Bidders are requested to provide

detailed activity & phase wise timelines for executing the project with details of deliverables & milestones

as per their proposal.

Bidder:

Signature ------------------------

Name ------------------------

Designation ------------------------

Company ------------------------

Date ------------------------


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5.12 Performa for EMD

Bid Securing Declaration

(To be submitted on the letterhead of the Applicant/ Bidder)

To,

Group General Manager/Services

M-13, Punj House, Connaught Place

New Delhi – 110001

Subject: Bid Securing Declaration

Reference: IRCTC’s e-tender No. 2021/IRCTC/SERVICES/IRHES/139 dated......

I/We the undersigned, declare that:

“I/We hereby understand and accept that if I/we withdraw or modify my/our bids

during the period of validity, or if I/we are awarded the contract and on being called upon

to submit the performance security/Security Deposit, fail to submit the performance

security/ Security Deposit, before the deadline defined in the request for bid

document/Notice Inviting tender, I/we shall be ready to face actions mentioned as under:

Withdrawal of bids by the bidder(s)- applicability of ‘Bid Securing Declaration’

a) If firm/bidder is L-1/H1 (as applicable) after opening of tender and Withdraws offer before issue of LOA: Action: Firm will be debarred for 01-year for participating in all future tender of IRCTC. After one year, offer of the defaulting firm will only be considered on submission of EMD.

b) Firm exits from contract after issue of LOA before commencement of services without depositing Security Deposit: Action: As (a) above.

c) Firm exits from contract after depositing Security Deposit and after

commencement of services: Action: As per (a) above, in addition to forfeiture of security deposit.

Signed:

Name: (insert complete name of person signing the Bid Securing Declaration) Duly authorized to sign the bid for an on behalf of (insert complete name of Bidder) Name of the Bidder/Company and

Seal _______________________ Dated on _____________ day of __________________


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5.13 Non-Disclosure Agreement

NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

WHEREAS, we the undersigned Bidder, __________________________________, having our

principal place of business/ registered office at _________________, are desirous of bidding for

RFP No. XX dated MM-DD-20YY covering “Selection of Managed Service Partner (MSP) for

Integrated Railways Helpline System -139” (hereinafter called the said 'RFP') to the IRCTC,

Internet Ticketing Centre, State Entry Road, New Delhi 110055 hereinafter referred to as

‘Purchaser' and,

WHEREAS, the Bidder is aware and confirms that the Purchaser’s business/ operations,

information, Application/software, hardware, business data, architecture schematics, designs,

storage media and other information / documents made available by the Purchaser in the RFP

documents during the bidding process and thereafter, or otherwise (confidential information for

short) is privileged and strictly confidential and/or proprietary to the Purchaser,

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of disclosure of confidential information, and in order to

ensure the Purchaser’s grant to the Bidder of specific access to Purchaser’s confidential

information, property, information systems, network, databases and other data, the Bidder agrees

to all of the following conditions.

It is hereby agreed as under:

1. The confidential information to be disclosed by the Purchaser under this Agreement

(“Confidential Information”) shall include without limitation, any and all information in written,

representational, electronic, verbal (“to be confirmed in writing within fifteen days of such

verbal disclosure.) or other form relating directly or indirectly to processes, methodologies,

algorithms, risk matrices, thresholds, parameters, reports, deliverables, work products,

specifications, architecture, project information, money laundering typologies, related

computer programs, systems, trend analysis, risk plans, strategies and information

communicated or obtained through meetings, documents, correspondence or inspection of

tangible items, facilities or inspection at any site to which access is permitted by the

Purchaser.

2. Confidential Information does not include information which:

a. the Bidder knew or had in its possession, prior to disclosure, without limitation on its

confidentiality;

b. information in the public domain as a matter of law;

c. is obtained by the Bidder from a third party without any obligation of confidentiality;

d. the Bidder is required to disclose by order of a competent court or regulatory authority;

e. is released from confidentiality with the written consent of the Purchaser.

The Bidder shall have the burden of proving hereinabove are applicable to the information in the

possession of the Bidder.

3. The Bidder agrees to hold in trust any Confidential Information received by the Bidder, as part

of the Bidding process or otherwise, and the Bidder shall maintain strict confidentiality in


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respect of such Confidential Information, and in no event a degree of confidentiality less than

the Bidder uses to protect its own confidential and proprietary information. The Bidder also

agrees:

a. to maintain and use the Confidential Information only for the purposes of bidding for this

RFP and thereafter only as expressly permitted herein;

b. to only make copies as specifically authorized by the prior written consent of the

Purchaser and with the same confidential or proprietary notices as may be printed or

displayed on the original;

c. to restrict access and disclosure of Confidential Information to their employees, agents,

and representatives strictly on a "need to know" basis, to maintain confidentiality of the

Confidential Information disclosed to them in accordance with this clause; and

d. to treat Confidential Information as confidential unless and until Purchaser expressly

notifies the Bidder of release of its obligations in relation to the said Confidential

Information.

4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Bidder acknowledges that the nature of activities to be

performed as part of the Bidding process or thereafter may require the Bidder’s personnel to

be present on premises of the Purchaser or may require the Bidder’s personnel to have

access to software, hardware, computer networks, databases, documents and storage media

of the Purchaser while on or off premises of the Purchaser. It is understood that it would be

impractical for the Purchaser to monitor all information made available to the Bidder’s

personnel under such circumstances and to provide notice to the Bidder of the confidentiality

of all such information.

Therefore, the Bidder shall disclose or allow access to the Confidential Information only to

those personnel of the Bidder who need to know it for the proper performance of their duties in

relation to this project, and then only to the extent reasonably necessary. The Bidder will take

appropriate steps to ensure that all personnel to whom access to the Confidential Information

is given are aware of the Bidder’s confidentiality obligation. Further, the Bidder shall procure

that all personnel of the Bidder are bound by confidentiality obligation in relation to all

proprietary and Confidential Information received by them which is no less onerous than the

confidentiality obligation under this agreement.

5. The Bidder shall establish and maintain appropriate security measures to provide for the safe

custody of the Confidential Information and to prevent unauthorised access to it.

6. The Bidder agrees that upon termination/expiry of this Agreement or at any time during its

currency, at the request of the Purchaser, the Bidder shall promptly deliver to the Purchaser

the Confidential Information and copies thereof in its possession or under its direct or indirect

control, and shall destroy all memoranda, notes and other writings prepared by the Bidder or

its Affiliates or directors, officers, employees or advisors based on the Confidential

Information and promptly certify such destruction.

7. Confidential Information shall at all times remain the sole and exclusive property of the

Purchaser. Upon completion of the Bidding process and/or termination of the contract or at

any time during its currency, at the request of the Purchaser, the Bidder shall promptly deliver

to the Purchaser the Confidential Information and copies thereof in its possession or under its

direct or indirect control, and shall destroy all memoranda, notes and other writings prepared

by the Bidder or its Affiliates or directors, officers, employees or advisors based on the

Confidential Information within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of notice, or

destroyed, if incapable of return. The destruction shall be witnessed and so recorded, in


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writing, by an authorized representative of the Purchaser. Without prejudice to the above the

Bidder shall promptly certify to the Purchaser, due and complete destruction and return.

Nothing contained herein shall in any manner impair rights of the Purchaser in respect of the

Confidential Information.

8. In the event that the Bidder hereto becomes legally compelled to disclose any Confidential

Information, the Bidder shall give sufficient notice and render best effort assistance to the

Purchaser to enable the Purchaser to prevent or minimize to the extent possible, such

disclosure. Bidder shall not disclose to a third party any Confidential Information or the

contents of this RFP without the prior written consent of the Purchaser. The obligations of this

Clause shall be satisfied by handling Confidential Information with the same degree of care,

which the Bidder applies to its own similar Confidential Information but in no event less than

reasonable care.

For and on behalf of:

(BIDDER)

Authorised Signatory Office Seal:

Name: Place:

Designation: Date :

Note: The Bidder shall execute a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) as per above format, in

favour of the Purchaser before signing of the contract

5.14 Pre-Bid Query Format

The queries should necessarily be submitted in the following format:

Bidder’s Request for Clarification

Name and Address of the

Organization submitting request

Name and Position of

Person submitting request

Contact Details of the

Organization or Authorized

Representative

Tel:

Fax:

Email:

S. No

RFP Reference

Content of RFP requiring

clarification

Points of clarification

required Section Page

No.

Clause

No.


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5.15 Proforma for Statement of Deviations from Tender Conditions

PROFORMA FOR STATEMENT OF DEVIATIONS FROM TENDER CONDITIONS

The following are the of deviations from the requirements of the Instructions to Tenderers

in section II & General Conditions of Contract and Special conditions given in section III of tender

document.

CLAUSE DEVIATION REMARKS (Including Justification)


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5.17 Pre-Contract Integrity Pact

INTEGRITY PACT

This pre-bid pre-contract Agreement (hereinafter called the integrity pact) is made on _____ day

of ____, 2021 between Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (hereinafter

referred as “IRCTC”), which expression shall mean and include, unless the context otherwise

requires, his successors in office and assigns.

And

…………… hereinafter referred to as “The Bidder/Contract actor” which expression shall mean

and include, unless the context otherwise requires, his successors in office and assigns

Preamble

The IRCTC intends to award, under laid down organizational procedures. Contract/s for

……………………….The IRCTC values full compliance with all relevant laws of the land, rules,

regulations. Economic use of resources and of fairness/transparency in its relations with its

bidder(s) and / or contractor(s).

In order to achieve these goals, the IRCTC has appointed Independent External Monitors (IEMs)

who will monitor the tender process and the execution of the contract for compliance with the

principles mentioned above.

Section 1- Commitments of the IRCTC

(i) The IRCTC commits itself to take all measures necessary to prevent corruption and to

observe the following principles:

(a) No employee of the IRCTC, personally or through family members, will in connection with the

tender for, or the execution of a contract, demand, take a promise for or accept, for self or

third person , any material or immaterial benefit which the person is not legally entitled to.

(b) The IRCTC will during the tender process treat all bidder(s) with equity and reason. The

IRCTC will in particular, before and during the tender process, provide to any bidder(s)

confidential/additional information through which the Bidder(s) could obtain an advantage in

relation to the tender process or the contract execution.

(c) The IRCTC will exclude from the process all known prejudiced persons.

(ii) If the IRCTC obtains information on the conduct of any of its employees which is a criminal

offence under the IPC/PC Act, or if there be a substantive suspicion in this regard, the IRCTC

will inform the Chief Vigilance Officer and in addition can initiate disciplinary actions.

Section 2- Commitments of the Bidder(s)/Contractor(s)

1) The Bidder(s)/Contractor(s) commit themselves to take all measure to prevent corruption.

The Bidder(s)/ Contractor(s) commit themselves to observe the following principles during

participation in the tender process and during the contract execution.

(a) The Bidder(s)/Contractor(s) will not, directly or through any other person or firm, offer,

promise or give to any of the IRCTC’s employees involved in the tender process or the

execution of the contract or to any third person any material or other benefit which he/she is

not legally entitled to, in order to obtain in exchange any advantage of any kind whatsoever

during the tender process or during the execution of the contract.


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(b) The Bidder(s) Contractor(s) will not enter with other Bidders into any undisclosed agreement

or understanding, whether formal or informal. This applies in particular to prices,

specification, certifications, subsidiary contracts, submission or non-submission of bids or

any other actions to restrict competitiveness or to introduce cartelisation in the bidding

process.

(c) The Bidder(s) Contractor(s) will not commit any offence under the relevant IPC/PC Act,

further the Bidder(s) Contractor(s) will not use improperly, for purpose of competition or

personal gain or pass on to others, any information or document provided by the IRCTC as

part of the business relationship, regarding plans, technical proposals and business details

including information contained or transmitted electronically.

(d) The Bidder(s) Contractor(s) of foreign origin shall disclose the name and address of the

Agents/representatives in India, if any. Similarly the Bidder(s) Contractor(s) of Indian

Nationality shall furnish the name and address of the foreign IRCTCs, if any. Further details

as mentioned in the “Guidelines on Indian Agents of Foreign Suppliers” shall be disclosed by

the Bidder(s) Contractor(s). Further, as mentioned in the Guidelines all the payments made

to the Indian agent/representative have to be in Indian Rupees only.

(e) The Bidder(s) Contractor(s) will, when presenting their bid, disclose any and all payments

made, is committed to or intends to make to agents, brokers or any other intermediaries in

connection with the award of the contract.

(f) Bidder(s) Contractor(s) who have signed the Integrity Pact shall not approach the courts

while representing the matter to IEMs and shall wait for their decision in the matter.

(2) The Bidder(s) Contractor(s) will not instigate third persons to commit offences outlined above

or be an accessory to such offences.

Section 3 - Disqualifications from tender process and exclusion from future contracts

If Bidder(s) Contractor(s) before award or during execution has committed a transgression

through a violation of Section 2, above or in any other form such as to put their reliability or

credibility in question, the IRCTC is entitled to disqualify the Bidder(s) Contractor(s) from the

tender process or take action as per the procedure mentioned in the “Guidelines on Banning of

business dealings”.

Section 4 - Compensation for Damages

1) If the IRCTC has disqualified the Bidder(s) from the tender process prior to the award

according to Section 3, the IRCTC is entitled to demand and recover the damages equivalent

to Earnest Money Deposit/ Bid Security.

2) IRCTC is entitled to terminate the contract according to section 3, the IRCTC shall be entitled

to demand and recover from the contractor liquidated damages of the contract value or the

amount equivalent to Performance Bank Guarantee.

Section 5- Previous Transgression

The Bidder declares that no previous transgressions occurred in the last three years with any

other company in any country conforming to the anti corruption approach or with any public sector

enterprises in India that could justify his exclusion from the tender process.

(1) If the bidder makes incorrect statement on this subject, he can be disqualified from the

tender process or action can be taken as per the procedure mentioned in “ Guidelines on

Banning of Business dealings”.


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Section 6- Equal Treatment of all Bidders/Contractors/ Subcontractors

(1) In case of sub-coordinating, the IRCTC contractor shall take the responsibility of the

adoption of Integrity Pact by the sub-contractor.

(2) The IRCTC will enter in to agreements with identical conditions as this one with all Bidders

and Contractors.

(3) The IRCTC will disqualify from the tender process all bidders who do not sign this pact

or violate its provisions.

Section 7- Criminal charges against violating Bidder(s) /Contractor(s) / Subcontractor(s)

If the IRCTC obtains knowledge of conduct of a Bidder, Contractor or subcontractor, or of

an employee or a representative or an associate of a bidder, contractor or subcontractor which

constitutes corruption, or if the IRCTC has substantive suspicion in this regard, the IRCTC will

inform the same to the Chief Vigilance Officer.

Section 8- Independent External Monitor

(1) The IRCTC appoints competent and credible Independent external monitor for this pact after

approval by Central Vigilance Commission. The task of the monitor is to review independently

and objectively, whether and to what extent the parties comply with the obligations under this

agreement.

(2) The IRCTC has appointed Independent Monitors (hereinafter referred to as Monitors) for this

Pact in consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission.

a) Dr. Pravez Hayat, IPS (Retd.), E-mail.- [email protected]

(3) The Monitor is not subject to instructions by the representatives of the parties and performs

his/her functions neutrally and independently. The Monitor would have access to all contract

documents, whenever required. It will be obligatory for him/ her to treat the information and

documents of the Bidders/Contractors as confidential. He/ She reports to the CMD IRCTC.

(4) The Bidder(s)/Contractor(s) accepts that the Monitor has the right to access without restriction

to all project documentation of the IRCTC including that provided by the Contractor. The

Contractor will also grant the Monitor upon his/her request and demonstration of a valid

interest, unrestricted the unconditional access to their project documentation. The same is

applicable to sub-contractors.

(5) The Monitor is under contractual obligation to treat the information and documents of the

bidder(s)/ contractor(s)/ Sub contractor(s) with confidentially. The Monitor has also signed

declaration on ‘Non-Disclosure of confidential Information’ and of ‘ Absence of conflict of

interest’. In case of any conflict of interest arising at a later date, the IEM shall inform CMD,

IRCTC and rescue himself/herself from that case.

(6) The IRCTC will provide to the Monitor sufficient information about all meetings among the

parties related to the project provided such meetings could have an impact on the contractual

relations between the IRCTC and the contractor. The parties offer to the Monitor the option to

participate in such meetings.

(7) As soon As the monitor notices, or believes to notice, a violation of this agreement, he/she will

so inform the management of the IRCTC and request the management to discontinue or take

corrective action, or to take other relevant action. The monitor can in this regard submit non-

binding recommendations. Beyond this, the monitor has no right to demand from the parties

mailto:[email protected]


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that they act in a specific manner, refrain from action or tolerate action.

(8) The Monitor will submit a written report to the CMD, IRCTC within 8 to 10 weeks from the date

of reference or intimation to him by the IRCTC and should the occasion arise, submit

proposals for correcting problematic situations.

(9) If the monitor has reported to the CMD IRCTC, a substantiated suspicion of an offence under

relevant IPC/PC ACT, and the CMD IRCTC has not, within the reasonable time taken visible

action to proceed against such offence or reported it to the Chief Vigilance Officer, the monitor

may also transmit this information directly to the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

(10) The Word ‘Monitor’ would include both singular and plural.

Section 9- Pact Duration

This pact begins when both parties have legally signed it, It expires for the contractor 12 months

after the last payment under the contract, and for all other Bidders 6 months after the contract has

been awarded. Any violation of the same would entail disqualification of the bidders and exclusion

from future business dealings.

If any claim made/ lodged during this time, the same shall be binding and continue to be valid

despite the lapse of this pact as specified above, unless it is discharged/determined by the CMD

of IRCTC.

Section 10- Other Provisions

(1) This agreement is subject to Indian Law. Place of performance and Jurisdiction is the

Registered Office of the IRCTC, i.e. New Delhi.

(2) Changes and supplements as well as termination notices need to be made in writing. Side

agreements have not been made.

(3) If the contractor is a partnership or a consortium, this agreement must be signed by all

partners or consortium members.

(4) Should one or several provisions of this agreement turn out be invalid, the remainder of

this agreement remains valid. In this case, the parties will strive to come to an agreement

to their original intentions.

(5) Issues like Warranty/Guarantee etc. shall be outside the purview of IEMs.

(6) In the event of any contradiction between the Integrity Pact and its Annexure, the clause in

the Integrity Pact will prevail.

_______________________________ _______________________________

(For & On behalf of the IRCTC) (For & On behalf of Bidder/Contractor)

(Office Seal) (Office Seal)

Place ………………

Date ………………


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Witness 1:

(Name & Address) _______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Witness 2:

(Name & Address) _______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________


Page 119 of 191

5.18 Performa of Security Deposit

Proforma Of Bank Guarantee for contract Security Deposit (SD) Ref……………. Date …………….

Bank Guarantee No…………………………………………………………

To GGM/Services, Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd, Punj House , M-13, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001. 1. Against contract vide Advance Acceptance of the Tender No…………………………. dated

……………………….covering supply/ installation/commissioning of

…………………………………… (hereinafter called the ‘Contract’), entered into between the

GGM/Services/IRCTC (hereinafter called the IRCTC) and……………………………

(hereinafter called the ‘Contractor’) this is to certify that at the require of the Contractor we

…………………………………………Bank Ltd., are holding in trust in favour of the

GGM/Services/IRCTC, the amount of ………………………………. (write the sum here in

words) to indemnify and keep indemnified the GGM/Services/IRCTC against any loss or

damage that may be caused or likely to be caused to or suffered by GGM/Services/IRCTC

by reason of any breach by the Contractor of any of the terms and conditions of the said

contract and/or the performance thereof whether any breach of any of the terms and

conditions of the said contract and or in the performance thereof has been committed by the

Contractor and amount of loss or damage that has been caused or suffered by

GGM/Services/IRCTC shall be final and binding on us and the amount of the said loss or

damage shall be paid by us forth with on demand and without demur to

GGM/Services/IRCTC.

2. We, …………………Bank Ltd., further agree that the guarantee herein contained shall

remain in full force and effect during the period that would be taken for satisfactory

performance and fulfilment in all respects of the said contract by the Contractor i.e. till

…………………………(viz. the date up to 6 months after the last date of contract

period/warranty on goods/services supplied under the contract) hereinafter called the “said

date” and that if any claim accrues or arises against us, …………………….Bank Ltd., by

virtue of this guarantee before the said date, the same shall be enforceable against us

………………………………… Bank Ltd., notwithstanding the fact that the same is enforced

within six months after the said date. Payment under this letter of guarantee shall be made

promptly upon our receipt of notice to that effect from IRCTC.

3. It is fully understood that this guarantee is effective from the date of the said contract and

that we……Bank Ltd., undertake not to revoke this guarantee during its currency without the

consent in writing of IRCTC.

4. We …………………………………..Bank Ltd., further agree that the IRCTC shall have the

fullest liberty, without affecting in any manner our obligations hereunder to vary any of the

terms and conditions of the said contract or to extend time of performance by the Contractor

from time to time or to postpone for any time or from time to time any of the powers

exercisable by IRCTC against the said Contractor and to forbear or enforce any of the terms

and conditions relating to the said contract and We ……………………….Bank Ltd., shall not


Page 120 of 191

be released from our liability under this guarantee by reason of any such variation of

extension being granted to the said Contractor or for any forbearance and or omission on the

part of IRCTC or any indulgence by IRCTC to the said Contractor or by any other matter the

effect of so releasing us from our liability under this guarantee.

5. We ………………………………………. Bank Ltd. further agree that the guarantee herein

contained shall not be affected by any change in the constitution of the said Contractor.

Date……………… Signature ………………….

Place ………………. Printed Name…………….

Witness ……………… ……………………………. (Designation)

………………………………………. (Bank’s Common Seal)


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5.19 Financial Bid Letter (Packet-B of Bid)

FINANCIAL BID

Bidder’s Name: ..............................................................................................................................

Tender Reference: E-Tender No. 2021/IRCTC/SERVICES/IRHES/139 dated :

Prices should be quoted in Indian Rupees and indicated both in figures and words. Price in words will prevail,

in the event of any mismatch.

The bidder shall submit the rate schedule strictly as per the format mentioned below :

Item Description

Quote* (refer

clause 2.27

on page 42 of

tender

document)

Positive

or

Negative

Cost per Call

Exclusive of

GST

In Figures

Rate of GST

on Quoted

Cost per

Call

GST

Amount

Total Cost

per Call In

Figures

Total

Cost per

Call In

Words

I II III IV V=III*IV/100 VI=III+V VII

IRHES-139 (Services) -

Design, Development,

Implementation and

Maintenance of the

Integrated Railways

Helpline & Enquiry

System-139 (‘Services’) As

per Scope of work and

other terms & conditions of

the tender document for a

period of 5 years

*In case of Negative quote- Bidder will pay to IRCTC and in case of Positive quote- IRCTC will pay to bidder, for the contract period of five years. We hereby submit our Financial Offer for the captioned project. If the project is awarded to us, we agree to

make/receive the following payments to IRCTC as per the terms given in the Bid Document and resultant legal

agreement.

If the project is awarded to us, we also agree to sign the legal agreement to be provided by IRCTC and submit

the necessary security deposit (and JV continuity bank guarantee if applicable/asked by IRCTC ) within 30

days of issue of Letter of Award by IRCTC.

We agree to pay/charge the above cost per call, exclusive of GST. The amount/License Fees will be

calculated and paid on quarterly basis.

This offer is being made by us after taking into consideration all terms and conditions stated in the Bid

document and after careful assessment of all risks and contingencies and all other conditions that may affect

the Bid.

We agree to keep our offer valid for 180 days from the date of submission of this Bid.

(Financial Bid Template to be signed digitally & submitted online on the tenderwizard portal)


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5.20 Security Requirements

Bidder should provide following security components for data security and protection of IRHES 139. It is

mandatory to qualify to all the security requirements. In case the Bidder does not meet any one of the

conditions, the bidder will be disqualified.

The OEM of the offered product/service should be in Magic Quadrants for the latest report published by

Gartner (or in Forrester Wave) up to the time of closing of Tender or can be proprietary solution of the cloud

vendors.

Firewall

S.no. Minimum Technical Functionalities Compliance Reference

(Document/Page No.) (Yes/No)

a The solution shall protect & scale against dynamic latest security threats

b The solution shall support operating in routed & transparent mode

c The solution shall support QoS features like traffic prioritization, differentiated services, committed access rate for defining the QoS policies, etc.

d The solution shall support web based (HTTP and HTTPS) configuration and management

e The solution shall support static NAT; Policy based NAT and PAT

f

The solution shall support dynamic routing over the VPN. The solution shall support secure socket layer, which has to be implemented by the MSP. The solution shall have IPSec VPN for both Site-Site & Remote Access VPN

g The solution shall have next generation firewall functionalities

h The perimeter and internal firewall shall of different make

i The solution shall monitor east to west traffic

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Sl.No. Minimum Technical Functionalities Compliance Reference


a

The data collected by cloud platform from the infrastructure of IRHES 139 shall reside within the territory of India only. No Data in any form shall pass or store outside India

b The solution shall provide single view of the entire cloud estate with dashboard that provides real-time visibility

c

The solution shall provide enhanced analytics capability with intuitive business intelligence query interface to help analysts identify relationships between events and system data flows so they can resolve threats quickly

d The solution shall provide the collection of events through customization of connectors or parsers or similar integration


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e The SIEM receiver or log collection component must store the data locally if communication with centralized correlators is unavailable

f The platform must allow customers to define either whitelist or blacklists that can be used as inclusion or exemption during the correlation process.

g The solution shall provide a single plane of glass view for all events and incidents across the organization and shall provide Real Time Analysis and Reporting

h The data collected from the receiver shall be forwarded in an encrypted manner or encrypted channel to SIEM log storage

i The solution shall provide Audit and Operations based report, Native support for Incident management workflow

j The solution shall be capable of retrieving the archived logs for analysis, correlation, reporting and for forensic purposes

k

The solution shall have the ability of integrating with cloud intelligence system with information related to global risks and use the information collected in this system in the correlation of events

l Correlation rules out of the box shall be supported, so as to provide correlation on the fly as relevant to organization

m The solution shall have an exhaustive incident tracking system that can track, investigate and resolve events in workflow like environment

n The solution shall allow the creation of unlimited number of new correlation rules, as well as the customization of existing rules

o The solution shall be able to collect data from new solution added to the environment, without any disruption on the ongoing data collection

p The solution shall provide a formula of threat which shall be customized to allow increasing or decreasing level of risk


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q The solution shall be able to facilitate customized dashboard creation and supporting dynamic display of events graphically

r The solution shall provide storage of raw logs for forensic analysis

s The solution shall provide configurable data retention policy based on organization requirement

Patch Management



a The solution shall scan the platforms within the network for missing security patches. The detection shall be automated and will trigger the patch

b

The solution shall be able to download the Windows/Linux patches as soon as it is available and published by Windows/Linux without any delay /lag to repackage the patch separately such that the Time Window for Vulnerability is least

c The solution shall support ability to enforce a “run-in-window” to prevent patching during restricted hours

d The patch deadlines shall be enforced independently of the advertise schedule

e The solution shall support easy transitions from pilot to production deployment

f The solution shall be able to determine patch dependencies prior to deployment of patches to the nodes

g The solution rollback and backup restoration facilities shall be available

h Patches shall be tested before deployment

i The latest fixes/ updates shall be downloaded to the Patch Management server on the same day that the patch is made available on software vendors websites


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Web Application Firewall (WAF)



a The solution shall provide specialized application threat protection

b

The solution shall protect against application-level attacks targeted at web applications, must address application layer attacks from at least but not limited to OWASP Top 10 and SANS Top 25

c The solution shall provide bi-directional protection against sophisticated threats like SQL injection and cross-site scripting

d The solution shall monitor and enforce government regulations, industry best practices and internal policies

e The solution shall have controls for Anti Web Defacement and provide ability to check the authorized version of the website content

f The solution shall prevent attacks such as encoding attacks, buffer overflows, SYN-flood type of attacks and other application specific attacks

g The solution shall provide ability to allow or deny a specific URL access

h The solution shall be able to control BOT traffic and it shall be able to block known bad bots and fake search engine requests

i The solution shall have the capability to auto-learn security profiles required to protect the environment

j The solution shall detect brute force attack against any part of the applications

k The solution shall be able to protect Cookie Poisoning and Cookie Tampering

l

The solution shall have the capability to do vulnerability scan (by default or by integration) shall identify vulnerabilities such as XSS, SQL injection, Source code disclosure, Common web server vulnerabilities etc

m The solution shall support Role Based Access Control for Management


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Web Application Firewall (WAF)



n The solution shall support two Factor Authentication and SSL transactions

o The solution shall have ability to identify and notify solution faults and loss of performance

Hardware Security Module (HSM)



a The solution shall support Operating Systems including but not limited to Linux, Windows, Solaris, HP-UX, etc.

b The solution shall be compliant with FIPS Level 2 certified HSM required for managing Certificates for devices and VoIP servers

c The solution shall support the standard algorithms as per the CCA Guidelines

d The solution shall also support automatic synchronization of keys between HSM Systems

e The solution shall share keys between HSMs in different operating locations to enable load sharing and hardware fault tolerance

f The remote administration of the HSM solution shall be possible

g The solution shall be capable of overall key management (creation, access, archival, destruction)

h The solution shall support secured backup of HSM rules and settings

Monitoring




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Monitoring



a

The solution shall support Infrastructure Monitoring

b

The solution shall support Real time monitoring of on-premise, hybrid and MPLS networks for loss, latency and bandwidth utilization.

c

The solution shall allow to observe historical trends of response time and latency. Correlate network data with application data to isolate fault in the network


Page 128 of 191

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Minimum Technical Functionalities Compliance Reference


a. The proposed solution shall help in preventing data leak from mail, network and endpoints

b. The proposed solution shall be able to identify critical data and categorise it

c. The proposed solution shall maintain audit logs that track administrator activity

d.

The proposed solution shall provide a very fine-grained access control allowing creation of roles with any combination of permissions

e. The proposed solution shall be able to make custom policy

f. The proposed solution shall allow creating policies applicable to individual users or groups

g.

The same policy shall be applicable for the defined content in all possible locations - data at rest, data in motion and data in use

h. The proposed solution shall provide detection capabilities across all threats

i.

The proposed solution shall support segregated mechanism to define policy and content definition allowing the same content discovery definition to be used by multiple policies and each policy to act on multiple content discover definition

j. The proposed solution shall define and implement data security in the life cycle of the data


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Anti-APT (File, Network, Email, Endpoints)

Minimum Technical Functionalities

Compliance Reference (Document/Page No.) (Yes/No)

a The Solution shall have ability to detect malicious traffic in Network, Web and Endpoints

b

The solution shall be able to detect and prevent advanced Malware, Zero-day attack, spear phishing attack, targeted Advanced Persistent Threat etc without relying on just Signature database

c The solution shall perform dynamic real-time analysis of advanced malware on the solution itself to confirm true zero-day and targeted attacks

d The solution shall automatically detect and confirm multistage zero-day malware and targeted attacks without prior knowledge of the malware

e The solution shall utilize a state-full attack analysis to detect the entire infection lifecycle, and trace the stage-by-stage analysis of an advanced attack

f The solution shall capture, and store packet captures of traffic relevant to the analysis of detected threats

g The solution shall have the ability to do on-demand scanning and continuous scanning

h The solution must be able to perform a pre-assessment scan of the file server

i

The solution shall have the ability to scan and analyse emails to identify malicious attachments or URLs in real-time and quarantine emails with malicious attachments or URLs

j

The solution shall provide ability to create a quarantine share/folder and move malicious files to that share/folder as well as the ability to create a good share/folder and the ability to move clean files to that share/folder

K The solution shall provide visibility into scan histories of each file scanned that are aborted, completed, or in progress

l The solution must support typo- squatting attack detection for all sender domain & url domain in email body

m The solution may have capability to identify the payload information of APT including the origin and code information


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Anti-DDoS



a The solution shall be capable of preventing all type of DDoS attacks which impacts IRHES services hosted on Internet

b The solution shall allow protection parameters to be changed while a protection is running, such change must not cause traffic interruption

c The solution shall protect from multiple attack vectors on different layers at the same time with combination of Network, Application and Server-side attacks

d The solution shall provide protection for Volumetric, Protocol and Application layer-based DDoS attacks

e The solution shall have an updated threat feed that describes new malicious traffic (botnets, phishing, etc.)

f The solution shall be capable to mitigate and detect both inbound and outbound traffic

g The solution shall provide real time detection and protection from unknown Network DDOS attacks

h The solution shall have mitigation mechanism for protection against zero-day DoS and DDoS attacks without manual intervention

i The solution shall be able to detect and block SYN Flood attacks and shall support different mechanism

j The solution shall protect from Brute Force and dictionary attacks

k The solution shall be able to detect and block Zombie Floods

l The solution shall be able to detect and block ICMP & DNS Floods

m The solution shall detect and mitigate from Low/Slow scanning attacks

n The solution shall detect and mitigate from Proxy & volumetric Scanning


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Anti-DDoS



o The solution shall support dedicated DNS protection from DDoS

p The solution shall support suspension of traffic blacklisting from offending source based on a signature/attack detection

q The solution shall support prevention of malware propagation attacks

r The solution shall support prevention of anti-evasion mechanisms


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Database Activity Monitoring (DAM)



a.

The solution shall be able to monitor all database activities and provide protection against insiders with privileged access

b

The solution shall provide granular monitoring of database transactions with real-time alerts and prevention of breaches

c

The solution shall provide granular monitoring of queries, objects and stored procedures with real-time alerts and prevention of breaches

d

The solution shall provide flexible rules that allow enforcement of corporate security policy with no “false positive” alerts

e

The solution shall provide protection of newly discovered and Zero-Day database vulnerabilities, providing immediate protection without the need for patching the database

f The solution shall provide multiple user roles that facilitate separation of duties

g The solution shall easily monitor Access to sensitive data

h

The solution shall provide the ability to independently monitor and audit all database activity, including administrator's activity and selected transactions

i The solution shall have the ability to generate alert on policy violations

j. The solution shall have the ability to create custom reports and organize on a personalized portal view

k. The solution shall have the ability to perform audits on a specific user and review all commands executed

L. The solution shall monitor all access to the database


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Two Factor Authentication


(Document/Page No.)

(Yes/No)

a Two factor access control shall be provided for the initial registration and update of the IRHES accounts

Apart from above components, bidder should deploy solution which provides following services:

Other Services / Features

Sl.No. Security Component / Features Compliance Reference


a Anti-Virus and end point protection on desktops and servers with centrally managed platform

b IDAM (SSO, MFA, PIM) and Access Control for all the

applications

c Regular VA and PT

d Anti-Telephony Denial-of-Service (TDoS)

e

Call recording storage Data Encryption: All the archived data

should be replicated to DR location and should provide read

only access from replicated copy

f Read only access to Call recording storage

g Logging and Auditing

h Compliance to SOC 1, SOC 2, ISO27001, ISO27017,

ISO27018, ISO27701 Certifications

5.20.1 Data Analytics Functional Specification Requirements


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Data Analytics Functional Specification Requirements

S.no Minimum Technical Functionalities Compliance Yes/No

Reference (Document/Page

no.)

1. The proposed solution should be a COTS based advanced analytics solution which will be utilized to implement the intelligent call centre analytics solution at IRCTC-139; the solution should have single unified interface with end-to-end capabilities for data preparation/quality, visualization & exploration, advanced analytics, Machine Learning/AI, natural language processing & model deployment, from one single user interface, thereby helping them make better decisions faster.

2. The proposed solution should provide capability for various machine learning & natural language capability to better understand the citizens sentiments & enhance experience by analyze data from various social media sites, grievance portals & forums, conduct sentiment analysis identifying number of positive & negative sentiments.

3. The solution should be able to extract topics (text categorization) that identifies drivers of poor customer experience based on textual data. Topic modelling can also help with post-call analytics to mitigate repeat callers, mapping callers to the right agent (agent routing), improved agent training to better handle calls in future. With augmented predictive power of customer-centric models by utilizing extracted topics used as input features in modelling framework to improve model significance and Identify agent traits and behavioural elements that improves agent effectiveness.

4. The proposed solution should analyse the historical citizen level transactional & transcripts data for various citizen services and utilize machine learning based algorithms to develop recommendation engine to provide citizen centric recommendation to enhance their customer experience. Understand the conversation topics/category, citizen sentiments based on their transcripts data and provide various services level recommendations to enhance their user experience.

5. The solution should provide various analytics driven reports and dashboards to analyse the agent performance, operational performance, IVR reporting, FCR (First Call resolution) analysis, sentiment analysis etc. based on various key performance indicators to assess overall view of current CRIS 139 systems.

6. The proposed OEM advanced analytics & machine learning solution platform must be cloud-agnostics solution and can be deployed on any cloud service providers.

7. The proposed OEM solution platform must


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no.)

support containerization using docker and container orchestration using Kubernetes. The solution should be built as a micro service deployable on an Enterprise Grade Open Container Platform (such as Docker and container orchestration using Kubernetes /Kuberflow etc.), which allows for the platform to be deployed on premise/ private clouds or any public cloud infrastructure platform.

8. The proposed Analytics OEM for Data Science and Machine Learning Tool which bidder proposes to use during implementation of project must be from latest Gartner’s magic quadrant leader’s list/equivalent position in Forrester wave/ leader in IDC marketspace (As a supporting document the bidder must provide for relevant report of latest Gartner’s magic quadrant leader’s list/ equivalent position in Forrester wave/report of IDC)or can be proprietary solution of the cloud vendors.

9. The proposed OEM platform should have been implemented for at least four Indian state/central government department for utilizing text analytics & natural language processing on citizen data /grievance data in last 5 years. OEM need to share respective Purchase Orders for the same.

10. The platform must support multiple authentication modes including LDAP, Kerberos, Oauth/OpenID, SAML, PAM & Multi-factor authentication.

11. The proposed solution should combine data wrangling, data exploration, visualization, feature engineering, statistical techniques, data mining and machine learning techniques all in a single, integrated in-memory processing pipeline environment.

12. The solution should also provide features for "AutoML"(Automated Machine Learning/AI) capability to automatic develop machine learning pipeline in order to automate the machine learning model development process i.e. to automatically performs data feature engineering, feature selection, model building, hyper-parameter tuning, model training/validation, multiple machine learning model comparison, and model selection.

13. The proposed solution "AutoML" pipeline should also provide features to allows end-users to easily edit and enhance the auto-generated pipelines within the point-and-click GUI Visual interface.

14. The proposed solution should have modern statistical, data mining and machine-learning techniques like:

I. Unsupervised and supervised learning algorithms, such as clustering, principal component analysis, linear and nonlinear


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no.)

regression, GLM, logistic regression, Generalized Additive Model

II. Automated ensemble of decision trees, III. Gradient boosting with automated

generation of weighted averages, iterative search and stopping criteria,

IV. Random forests with automated intelligent tuning of parameter set to identify optimal model

V. Customizable neural networks architecture and weights with ability to use an arbitrary number of hidden layers to support deep learning - CNN, DNN, RNN, autoencoders etc.

VI. Support vector machines with linear and polynomial kernels and automated intelligent tuning of parameter set to identify optimal model

VII. Factorization machines to allow customized recommendation systems

VIII. T-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding (t-SNE)

IX. Semi supervised learning algorithm: Returns the predicted labels for both the unlabelled data table and the labelled data table.

X. Model comparison – compare multiple machine learning models based on defined error metrics and select champion model based on lowest error and identify respective challenger model(s).

15. The proposed solution should provide results of Machine Learning models to be tightly coupled and analysed further into visualization environment

16. The proposed solution should be able to generate score code in multiple languages (such as native programming language, REST API) for model consumption on new data.

17. The Proposed solution pipelines should be sharable across enterprise wide for collaborative sharing to adopt best practice templates for model development

18. The proposed solution should support wide range of Deep Learning algorithms like CNN, RNN, ResNet, VGG etc.

19. Solution should be open to ingest, and export models built in open source frameworks like tensorflow, Keras, Caffe etc.

20. The solution should have an out of box model governance, model metadata management, model centralized repository & deployment platform to set up, maintain and manage separate versions for models along with ability to select


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no.)

champion and challenger models

21. The solution must provide autoscaling of model scoring microservices to ensure high availability of deployed models

22. The proposed solution should provide in built capabilities to govern model deployment by versioning the same and should support rollback to previous version in case of any issues.

23. The solution should also provide capability for model governance, model management and model deployment to provide ease to use interface manage various models, version control, model performance reports, streamline model lifecycle, deployment of model with operational application or dockers (if required) using REST APIs.

24. The solution should provide the model repository can be searched, queried, sorted, and filtered by different attributes such as type of asset, algorithm, input, or target variables, etc.

25. The solution should have capability to generate model performance reports for both champion and challenger models, such as variable distribution plots, lift charts, stability charts, ROC, K-S, Gini reports, etc. for at least classification models with binary target and prediction models with interval target.

26. The solution should have capability to generate custom model performance reports such no. of models in production, type of models, model build by line of business, algorithms in productions based on machine learning/open source/native code based; type of lift & model accuracy, etc. for analytics users to understand the patterns of model consumptions & decay rates.

27. The proposed solution should combine text wrangling, text data exploration, visualization, text parsing, topics, concepts, categories, and sentiment all in a single framework, integrated in-memory processing environment.

28. The proposed solution uses natural language processing (NLP) to analyse and transform text into formal representations for text processing and understanding. This includes automated text parsing, word and sentence tokenization, segmentation, stemming, compound decomposition, synonym detection, part-of-speech tagging, categorization documents, named entity recognition, Text Summarization, conditional random field, search, and semantic parsing. It should also directly support the use of regular expressions (REGEX) for matching purposes.

29. The proposed solution should support English and Hindi languages for Natural Language


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no.)

Processing & Text Analytics actions.

30. The proposed solution should be capable to generate APIs in multiple languages like python, REST etc. for model scoring. Solution should provide capability to call analytical procedures and actions using open source programming languages (R, Python etc.)

31. Solution should capability text analytics results to be tightly coupled and further analyzed further in dashboarding environment. It should also provide document outputs modeling ready output for further integration with structured data for further analysis

32. The proposed solution shall be Easy‐ to‐ use, in-memory, self‐ service reporting tool that allow users to create dashboards & reports using a ‘drag & drop’, web-based, interactive exploration and analytical report-building interface

33. The proposed solution shall provide self-service exploration that provides interactive discovery of relationships, trends, outliers, etc. for business users and analysts.

I. Auto charting automatically chooses the graph best suited to display selected data.

II. Analytical visualizations include box plots, heat maps, animated bubble charts, network diagrams, correlation matrices, line charts with forecasting, parallel coordinates plots, donut charts, decision trees and more.

III. Geographical map views provide a quick understanding of geospatial data."

34. The proposed solution should provide capabilities to drill up and down on various hierarchies of the data and capability to create calculated, aggregated, or derived data items.

35. The proposed solution should enable the contents in a chart, tabular report, or visualization to be filtered by data values. Filtering is provided by features such as pull‐ down, list or slicers. The solution should also allow the user to drill‐ down from summarized to more detailed data and then drill up (i.e., go back to where they started)


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5.21 Financial Information of the Bidder

<<To be completed by the Bidder, by each partner as appropriate to demonstrate that they meet the

requirements>>

<<On the letterhead of the Chartered Accountant>>

<<To be submitted along with Audited Financial Statements>>

Date:

To

GGM/Services IRCTC Office, Punj House

M-13, Connaught Place New delhi-110001

Dear Sir,

We have examined the books of accounts and other relevant records of <<Bidder Name, along with registered

address>>. On the basis of such examination and according to the information and explanation given to us,

and to the best of our knowledge & belief, we hereby certify that the annual turnover for the three years i.e.

from FY 2017-18 to FY 2019-20 was as per details given below:

Information from Balance Sheets (in Indian Rupees)

2017-18 2018-19 2019-2020

Annual Turnover

Networth

(Signature of the Chartered Accountant)

Name :

Designation :

Membership Number :

Date :

Company Seal :

Business Address :

UDIN No. :


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5.22 Checklist of Technical Proposal Response (In Packet A of Bid)

SN. Checklist Submitted

(Yes / No)

Reference in

bid (File Name)

1 Notarized Power of Attorney executed by the Single Bidder / Prime Bidder

(in case of Sub-Contracting) in favour of the duly Authorized

Representative, certifying him as an authorized signatory for the purpose

of this RFP

2 Prime Bidder and Joint Venture detail (only in case of JV) as per Clause

5.2 of Section IV

3 Blacklisting undertaking in prescribed format as per Clause 5.3 of Section

IV

4 Response to Pre-qualification evaluation & Technical Evaluation qualifying

criteria (refer Clause 2.25 & 2.26 of Sec-II-ITB) in prescribed format with

supporting documents as per Clause 5.4 of Section IV

5 Relevant Experience List in prescribed format as per Clause 5.5 of Section

IV

6 Details of Manpower for the Project in prescribed format as per Clause 5.6

of Section IV

7 Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the proposed manpower in prescribed format as

per Clause 5.7 of Section IV

8 Technical Bid Submission letter in prescribed format as per Clause 5.8 of

Section IV

9 All Manufacturers Authorization Certificate in prescribed format as per

Clause 5.9 of Section IV

10 Overview of Proposed Solution in prescribed format as per Clause 5.10 of

Section IV

11 Bid Securing Declaration in prescribed format as per Clause 5.12 of

Section-IV.

12 Non-Disclosure Agreement in prescribed format as per Clause 5.13 of

Section IV

13 Proforma for Statement of Deviations from Tender Conditions in

prescribed format as per Clause 5.15 of Section IV

14 Pre-Contract Integrity Pact in prescribed format as per Clause 5.17 of

Section IV

15 Compliance to Security Requirements in prescribed format as per Clause

5.20 of Section IV

16 Financial Information of the Bidder in prescribed format as per Clause 5.21

of Section IV

17 Duly signed and stamped copy of RFP document with all amendments /

corrigendum / addendum

18 A Certificate for Compliance of OM of MoE dated 23.07.2020 on bidder/company letter head in reference to clause 2.35 Page 47 & 48 of tender document

19 Detailed design and drawing as required for installation of equipment and the scheme of layout and connection ( refer clause 3.22.8 of bid document)


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Section V: Scope of Work


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6 Section V: Scope of Work

6.14 About the Document

The intent of this document is to provide the detailed scope of work for partner agency who shall be

engaged for design, development, deployment, operations and maintenance of the IRHES 139 for

IRCTC.

IRCTC is inviting proposals for engaging reputed partner agency to undertake:

I. Contact Centre for IRHES 139

II. Cloud Service Provision

III. Operations and Maintenance of IRHES 139

IV. Capacity Building

6.15 Project Background

6.15.1 About IRCTC and Indian Railways

Indian Railways (IR), managed directly by the Ministry of Railways, Government of India (GoI), is one of

the world’s largest railway network under a single management. With its network of 67,368 route km, IR

has played a critical role in integrating markets and connecting communities throughout the length and

breadth of the country. Railways in India are a tool for development, equity and integration of all parts to

the mainstream. Railways are considered critical not only from the standpoint of connecting remote

regions and providing affordable transportation services (especially passenger services) but also from

the perspective of defence movements, (which cannot be passed on to the private sector) and meeting

the transportation requirement in the wake of national emergencies and natural catastrophes.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways

founded in 1999 to improve customer service verticals such as catering, ticketing and tourism. IRCTC

handles the Catering & Hospitality, Internet Ticketing, Travel &Tourism and Packaged Drinking Water

(RailNeer) operations of the Indian Railways. IRCTC aims at to be a technology driven customer-

oriented company through constant innovation and human resource development. When IRCTC

unveiled its online portal in 2002 “www.irctc.co.in”, few could have foreseen the ground-breaking impact

of this invention. IRCTC revolutionised the online ticketing for passengers and brought a

transformational change to the railway ticket booking space which was predominated by counter

booking and agent bookings.

IRCTC leads the category of travel e-commerce with the largest transaction share and dollar share. It

has achieved a tremendous growth in e-ticketing since inception with an increase from 27 tickets to

13.40 lakhs tickets per day. A total of 2841 lac tickets were booked in 2018-19 from IRCTC. In October

2019 IRCTC went public with its stock listing in BSE and NSE.

IRCTC envisages being one of the leading net centric companies. The rapid growth of www.irctc.co.in

in E-tickets is the result of their commitment of serving the customers, known as unmatched support,

and its exclusive focus on web. IRCTC would like to provide best value deal and high level of service to

its customers with the objective of expanding its customer base.

6.15.2 Project Objectives

IRCTC envisages the call centre on a “communication as a service” model/outsourced, to be developed

as a state-of-art Contact centre for Management & Operations of Customer Care Services for

Integrated Railway Helpline and Enquiry System (IRHES) on 139 number.

Key objectives of this project are:

1. User Experience Enhancement:

One of the dominant goals of 139 is to provide IR customers with simple, comprehensive, upgraded

and enhanced user experience. With better user experience 139 will aim to service more customers


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for the railways.

2. Helpline and Enquiry Services Consolidation:

The efforts of Indian Railways have been distributed which has resulted in development of

independent contact centres, mobile apps and websites which are currently working in silos. So, one

of the objectives of 139 is to consolidate all the process and working modules related to enquiry and

helpline services over a single platform for providing better customer service and satisfaction for IR.

6.15.3 Guiding Principles

1. Act as one complete solution for all IR’s enquiry and helpline service

All enquiry and helpline services like PNR status, train enquiry, grievances, security helpline,

catering helpline etc. along with other related services must be comprehensively integrated and 139

should come out as One Stop Solution platform for every IR enquiry and helpline related service.

2. Provide precise and timely information to the customers

139 contact centre and app should provide their precise information while maintaining integrity and

have minimum drop off rate of users by providing them with timely and personalized services and

notifications.

3. Quick Turnaround time for transactions

139 should have be highly responsive to the user requests with minimal turnaround time for

accessing the information from PRS, NTES, helplines and other service partners.

4. Safe and Secure

a. All the data and information shared over contact centre should be safe and secured.

b. Usage of strong user authentication mechanisms and encryption algorithms is recommended for

data exchange with other systems involved in 139 contact centres.

5. 139 Contact Centre should be Scalable and Robust to changes

a. The solution should be scalable for new services and functionalities.

b. Every component needs to scale to a large volume.

c. Every component as well as the whole system needs to provide consistent and acceptable

performance even at very large scale.

d. Single point of bottleneck and failure must be avoided.

e. While upgrades and scaling-up, it is necessary that the platform supports earlier versions

especially when upgrading the APIs.

6. Minimum Time to market

Considering the importance and criticality of 139 contact centre number, time to market of 139

should be minimum and it should have a faster roll out with all IR enquiry and helpline services.

7. Interoperability

The platform needs to integrate and interoperate with various other internal/external entities, the

ability of the platform to easily and in a relatively seamless manner integrate with internal/external

entities, interoperate with multitude of technologies is a significant criterion while selecting the

technology.

8. Modularity

The modules of the platform need to interact with each other in a seamless manner, plugging in or

plugging out of the modules or functionality should not impact other modules of the platform. The

following are key considerations: -

a. Every component needs to scale to a large volume and be capable of handling large transaction

loads

b. Every component as well as the whole system needs to provide consistent and acceptable

performance even at scale

c. Single point of bottleneck and failure must be avoided


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d. System should support asynchronous processing by enabling loosely coupled and messaging

architecture

6.15.4 Stakeholders Ecosystem

Following are the probable stakeholders under IRHES

S.no User Description Roles & Responsibilities

1 Railway Users The customers who

would be using Railway

139 services

• Utilize the services provided by the IRHES 139

• Provide feedback for the customer experience

of the IRHES 139 services

2 IRCTC Owner of Rail 139

helpline

• The system is being installed on the behalf of

IRCTC. All decisions about the project will be

taken by IRCTC. IRCTC will facilitate the

MSP’s interactions with CRIS and Railways at

all the locations. All supervision will be done by

IRCTC.

• IRCTC will coordinate with CRIS and Railways

for allotment of support services for the

housing of IVRS hardware and enabling

systems.

• IRCTC will facilitate the integration with

IRCTC’s websites and other applications

wherever necessary.

• IRCTC will nominate a project officer and

necessary staff for day-to-day monitoring as

well as quality audits at periodic intervals.

• IRCTC shall define the reporting/MIS formats

and the associated time schedules only.

3 Managed

Service Partner

of IRHES - 139

Selected bidder for

design, development,

operations and

maintenance of IRHES

139

• As per the detailed scope of work for partner agency who shall be engaged for development, deployment, operations and maintenance of the IRHES 139 for IRCTC.

4 CRIS • Integration with Back-end systems

(Development, Operation & Maintenance of

Rail Helpline Application i.e. REA) and

providing requisite support for connectivity with

PRS/NTES systems.

• The two Zonal Hubs, if required will be setup in

the NTES/PRS data centres where CRIS

engineers would be deployed round the clock

for maintenance and support of REA/API, bug

fixing with respect to PRS/NTES queries as per

separate agreement between IRCTC and

CRIS.

• CRIS will provide necessary technical support

and assistance for the provisioning of new


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S.no User Description Roles & Responsibilities

version of the services, introduction of

additional or improved products and services or

any other assistance sort by IRCTC regarding

the smooth running of the MSP’s.

• In cases of timetable corrections, introduction

of new trains, revision of timings etc. involving

one or more PRS locations. Accordingly, CRIS

shall update the IRHES databases along with

the rest of the PRS/NTES databases.

5 Telecom

Service

Providers

The telecom service

providers through which

user calls the IRHES

139

6 Other external

agencies

Other stakeholders

which can provide their

services on 139 such as

booking of meals,

hotels, flights, etc.


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Overview of the current technical solution is presented in this section.

6.15.5 Current Solution Architecture

1. The current solution consists of a two-tier architecture. At tier 1, there are four zonal hubs at Delhi,

Mumbai, Chennai and Howrah. These zonal hubs are integrated with respective regional contact

centres, which act as the tier 2 for the solution.

2. Each Zonal hub is integrated with one Regional Contact centre consisting of agent applications.

3. The Voice as well as relevant queries are routed to Regional Contact centre based on skill sets, ANI,

DNIS etc.

4. The current numbers of available agents are ~250 & the numbers of IVR ports are 1300.

Figure 1 Current Solution landscape and functional flow

6.15.5.1 Tier1: Zonal Hubs

1. Tier1 is deployed at four regions viz. North, East, West & South. Zonal Hubs (North / East / West &

South) are co-located at PRS / NTES Data Centres having connectivity to RCC (Tier2) over WAN and

are also connected to co-located backend PRS/NTES Database over LAN.

2. The Components at Zonal Hubs are as follows:

a. IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System)

b. IP PBX (Private Branch Exchange)

c. ACD (Automatic Call Distributor)

d. CTI (Computer Telephony Interface)

e. Voice Logger

f. Database

g. Router

h. LAN & Security Subsystem

i. REA (Rail Enquiry Application) Server

j. Management Tools

k. Reporting System

3. Each Zonal Hub is having following servers:

a. Database servers in cluster (to be interfaced with PRS & NTES to fetch information)


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b. ACD servers for skill-based call routing

c. Application severs cluster (to handle developed application on the CRM)

d. Antivirus server

e. Call Logger server to handle the enough storage as per requirement

f. Remote monitoring server to be interfaced with central monitoring server

g. SAN storage as per requirement along with SAN switch

h. Along with layer 3 redundant switches

i. Router to send data and transfer voice calls to the agents at RCC

j. Firewall

k. IPS

6.15.5.2 Tier 2: Regional Contact centre (RCC)

1. The RCC is connected to respective Zonal Hub over Private Lease Lines using Routers. Each

RCC is having LAN infrastructure for connecting IP Phones on which Human Agents login. These

IP Phones are registered to IP PBX located at Zonal Hub

2. The Components at Zonal Hubs are as follows:

a. Router to interface with the Zonal HUB to fetch data & transfer voice calls

b. IP phones

c. Desktops for data interface for screen pops & data entry as per transactions

d. Cluster of layers 2 POE switches to interface with IP phones and the agent’s desktops.

3. At present, the Contact centre is located at Noida and serves all 12 regional languages along with

English. Each Zonal hub is integrated with Noida Contact centre which hosts agent applications.

4. The Central Monitoring system is in Delhi, which is integrated with Remote monitoring systems at

all Zonal Hubs.

6.15.5.3 Applications Landscape and Security

In the current scenario, following applications are used at139:

1. IP Private Branch Exchange (IP PBX): Nortel Communication Server 1000M – Multi Group

2. Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) System: Nortel Contact Centre 6.0

3. Computer Telephony Integration (CTI): Nortel CCT Application for Screen POPUP

4. IVRS: Nortel Self Service (Media Processing Server – MPS)

5. Voice logging solution: Nortel Contact Recording & Quality Monitoring

6. Security subsystem comprising of FortiGate Firewalls are in place to make sure that WAN traffic

entering the Zonal Hub does not have any threat of viruses or any other attacks like DDoS.


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6.15.5.4 Current IT & Network Infrastructure

Below are the details of the current IT and Network Infrastructure:

6.15.5.4.1 List of IT Infrastructure at Zonal Hub and RCC

List of IT Infrastructure at Zonal hubs

S. N Servers Count in

North Zone

Count in West

Zone

Count in

East Zone

Count in

South Zone

1 REA Application Server 2 2 2 2

2 REA Database Server 2 2 2 2

3 SAN for Database Storage 1 1 1 1

4 CCMS Active 1 1 1 1

5 CCMS Standby 1 1 1 1

6 CCMS Replication 1 1 1 1

7 CCMA 1 1 1 1

8 NCC 1 1 1 1

9 CCT 2 2 2 2

10 CCMM 1 1 - -

11 LM/SU 1 1 1 1

12 Domain Controller / Anti-virus 1 1 1 1

13 Admin Server (OTM) 1 1 1 1

14 NMS 2 - - -

15 Logger Server 1 1 1 1

16 Check Point Server 1 1 1 1

17 CRM Server 1 1 1 1

18 CRM Middleware Server 2 2 2 2

19 CRM Database Server 2 2 2 2

6.15.5.4.2 Network Layout diagram

Network layout diagram for Zonal Hub and RCC are as indicated below:

1. The Zonal Hubs are connected to RCC over WAN using MPLS

2. LAN is connected to various Zonal Hub components (viz. IPPBX, ACD, IVRS, CTI, DB server, etc)

3. The LAN is also connected to the existing infrastructure of PRS / NTES Database.

List of IT Infrastructure at RCC

S. N Servers North South East West

1 Domain Controller ADC 1 1 1 1

2 Logger Server 1 1 1 1


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Figure 2 Network Layout of Zonal Hub Figure 3 Network Layout of RCC

PSTN

Server1

Database

RouterFIrewall

CRIS Network ZCC Kolkata ZCC Mumbai

PBX

Switch

Server2

Server

Router

ZCC


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6.15.5.5 Integration with CRIS

139 gets all its data of enquiry and helpline from different systems of Indian Railways. 139

solution has critical integration with following systems:

1. Passenger Reservation System (PRS) Software (CONCERT):CONCERT (Country –

Wise Network for computerized enhanced Reservation and Ticketing), a fully automated

passenger reservation system (PRS) is a complex on-line distributed transaction application

based on 3 tier client-server architecture interconnects the four standalone regional

computing systems (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata) into a National PRS grid to allow

passengers from anywhere, to do a booking, for a journey, in any train, in any class, from

anywhere, to anywhere. Following are some of the enquiry data provided to 139 from PRS:

a. PNR Enquiry b. Availability Enquiry c. Fare enquiry

2. National Train Enquiry System (NTES): National Train Enquiry System is a reliable

centralized information system, which provides up-to-date and accurate information to the

passengers regarding: -

a. Arrival / departure of passenger trains. b. Platform of passenger trains

This information is made available to the user through Display Boards, Interactive voice

Response System, Public Announcement System, Face to Face Enquiry, CCTV and on

internet. The above information is collected from stations, control offices and other

database administrators. It has servers located in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, & Kolkata,

which are networked. Following are some of the enquiry data provided to 139 from

NTES:

a. Train expected or actual Arrival or departure at a station, given train number and the station code.

b. List of Trains arriving and departing within a time frame at a station. c. Station code /name enquiry d. Trains between a given pair of station, Schedule e. List of trains, train type-wise (Special / Rajdhani / Shatabdi trains)

3. Rail Madad (COMS2): Following are some of the helpline data shared between 139 and

COMS2:

a. Catering Complaint b. General Complaint

4. Accident Helpline (SIMS): Following are some of the helpline data shared between 139

and SIMS

a. 139 system is integrated with SIMS to fetch the Train Accident related information


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6.16 General Requirements

The IRHES should support following features:

1. Managed Service Partner (referred to as MSP) shall setup/Build, Operate and Maintain

Integrated Railway Helpline & Enquiry System (IRHES)- 139 24x7 consisting of IVRS, SMS,

Mobile App and Regional Contact centres on behalf of Indian Railways (IRCTC).

2. The entire infrastructure required for the establishment and management of Contact Centres

(including human agents) and its connectivity from IVRS and all hardware, software & enabling

system for IRHES shall be arranged by the MSP’s. All the admin facility shall be borne by MSP.

Arrangement of Space and all the expenditure will be done by the MSP. Connectivity with

PRS/NTES shall also be provided by MSP.

3. The MSP shall provide the staff (i.e. agents & supervisors etc.) to handle queries of

customer/public. However, the training of agents and supervisors shall be managed by the

MSP in coordination with IRCTC.

4. The MSP shall provide technical support resource persons in every shift at each of the 139

locations and Contact centres and a 24 x 7 support for the operation/ maintenance of the

IRHES system.

5. Railways / IRCTC reserve the right to extend the scope of the work with respect to additional

services/type of enquiries etc.

6. Services provided through IRHES-139 shall include Medical Assistance, Railway Enquiry,

Catering Complaints, Complaints related to Railway Services, Vigilance, Accident Related

Assistance, Complaint Status Enquiry Services, Railway Helpline services and other Value-

added Services.

7. The MSP shall establish a Central Monitoring Centre at Railway / IRCTC premises (location for

this will be specified by IRCTC) and Regional Monitoring Centres at the Zonal Hubs near

PRS/NTES data enters. It should be possible to monitor the performance parameters of all

IVRS & CCs resources and seamlessly manage all the sites of CCs.

8. The MSP shall specify its project implementation plan along with full details of the system,

equipment, capacity, and scalability. The project plan should clearly specify how requirements

given in various clauses of this tender document are proposed to be met.

9. The capacity of each contact centre should be designed to handle peak load of enquiries and

each zone and should be able to work in fail safe mode. The MSP shall be responsible for

future enhancement and up-gradations during project period in close coordination with IRCTC

and CRIS.

10. MSP shall develop, implement and maintain the requisite IVRS, SMS and Agent Application

and integrate them with the Rail Madad portal and Rail Enquiry Application (REA) managed by

CRIS and other VAS applications in close coordination with IRCTC.

11. MSP will make all arrangements for termination of telecom lines of all other Telecom Service

Providers at all the contact centres. These services shall be accessible on IRHES. MSP shall

have to carry these services on its network

12. The Contact centre Executive (CCE) shall interact with customers in 13 different languages i.e.

Hindi, English, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada,

Malayalam & Urdu.

13. The IRHES shall support Call Processing and Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) and automatic

call routing based on pre-configured call flow, Agent’s skill, Agent’s availability etc.

14. The IRHES shall support Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), SMS; which will be the

front- end of all incoming queries and process them in accordance with a pre-configured call-

flow. The IVRS shall be interfaced with the PRS and NTES systems at the backend to provide

real-time information. The IVRS shall also be interfaced with, to enable natural language-based

feeding and should support Speech to Text feature.


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15. The IRHES shall support Queuing of calls in the event of incoming calls exceeding the call

handling capacity of the agents and shall update the customer with the current queue status at

regular intervals.

16. It shall be possible to configure advertisements during the waiting period. The content and

duration for advertisements shall be decided by IRCTC.

17. The Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) functionality shall support relevant screen pop-ups

on the agent’s desktop based on ANI (Automatic number identification), DNIS (Dialled number

identification sequence) etc.

18. The IRHES shall support application-oriented call routing. For instance,

a. The caller’s station can be known by using ANI to route the call to a specific agent/agent

group along with relevant pop-ups like status of Trains departing/arriving from/at that

station.

b. The inputs given to IVRS by the caller shall be utilized to route the call to an agent/agent

group.

19. Prioritization of calls should be possible based on call history for calls, which have already been

processed on the IVRS and are required to be forwarded to an agent. For instance, it should be

possible to prioritize calls based on class of travel, train type etc.

20. In case the information is not available with CRIS or IRCTC during the time the customer has

demanded the information, it is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure that, once the

information has been made available, then it is sent to the customer. Please note that this is

applicable for those data points that are not available.

21. The bidder has to ensure that any information asked for by the customer is sent in the correct

template.

22. The agent application shall be customized as per requirements of the Rail Helpline system with

an interface to fetch both the static and dynamic information available in the PRS/NTES

systems, as well as the local database in the Zonal Hub catering to information not available in

the PRS/NTES systems such as Amenities at Railway stations, concession rules, refund rules

etc.

23. The agent application shall be GUI based and shall pop-up along with the information relevant

to the call (call originating station discovered through CLID i.e. Caller Identification), state of the

call (the call flow history) when call comes to the agent.

24. Agent should be able to control the telephony features from the agent application like login,

logout, away, pick-up, Conference, and transfer to another agent or to supervisor. Screen pop -

ups should be multi coloured. Queries or call priorities should be recognized by the colour of

the pop up.

25. Entire login, logout, away, total call handled, data of the agent should be captured and

produced as reports in the dashboard.

26. The agent application shall support call recording for monitoring the performance of agents.

The contact centres shall have call recording servers, which shall record all calls serviced by

agents and store on-line for a period of about two months with archival facility for about four

months. The Central Monitoring Cell should also be enabled to monitor the individual

conversations of any agent in any contact centre, if so desired.

27. MSP shall provide a Supervisor application which shall enable the supervisors to monitor and

manage the functioning of the various contact centre resources such as Agents, call routing,

call flow, message/announcements etc. The supervisory application shall include features of

workforce management like create/modify’ agent profiles, agent optimization etc.

28. Supervisory application shall have an interface to dynamically re-configure Agent group /Splits

and effect reactive changes in call flow in case of special events.

29. The MSP shall provide information dashboards for the IRCTC/Railways managerial staff to

monitor key performance indicators and real time information gathered for SLA metrics and

reporting requirements.


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30. MSP dashboard shall provide the feature to download key performance indicators related

reports in both excel and pdf format to take the proper printout.

31. The MSP shall provide the requisite Network Security infrastructure comprising of the Firewalls,

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), Anti-Virus etc. at all the Zonal Hubs.

32. The MSP shall ensure that the 139 APIs are not publicly accessible in any case and should be

properly secured for any misuse but shall be made available to IRCTC for its internal

application like e-catering, IRCTC Air, Tourism, Retiring Room, Chatbot etc.

33. In case of 139 services are provided through cloud then MSP shall ensure that data should be

secured/saved in line with Meity guidelines.

34. The MSP shall provide the requisite Hardware & Software, which shall enable report generation

on performance of various components of the entire infrastructure. Reports should also be

available in the dashboard.

35. The dashboard shall support standard as well as customized reports on the performance of

various contact centre components including performance of agents, IVRS and performance

statistic such as average speed of answer, average queuing time, peak busy hour calls etc.

The dashboard shall also generate reports on the quantum and type of calls serviced during

different time periods. The dashboard shall support exception reports & notification for

individual agent & agent groups. The system shall be sized to store data online for at least one

years.

36. Bidder shall be responsible for integration of IRHES with relevant Indian Railways systems

which includes PRS, NTES etc. Please note that all cost incurred for development and

deployment along with associated infrastructurelike API manager, gateway, firewall etc. for

APIs shall be borne by the bidder.

37. MSP is not permitted to use or source out the available information obtained through

Railway’s network for any purpose other than specified services of giving information to

Railways’ customers as directed from time to time or get into any arrangement with any party

whatsoever to provide similar or related services using Railway information/statistics or

customer/service data generated from IRHES network.

38. The MSP shall implement the whole IRHES including RCCs with adequate provision for

scalability. The scalability shall be both with respect to equipment/resources as well as the

regional contact centres.

39. The MSP shall upgrade the software, hardware, resources and manpower whenever the

performance levels fall below the defined SLA parameters.

40. The IRHES should be implemented using a technology, which allows a Multi-site, Multi-channel

Networked Contact centre configuration. That is, it should be possible to dynamically

divert/reroute calls from a given Zonal Hub to another Zonal Hub or between Regional Contact

centres within a region for balancing the load or as a disaster Recovery measure. This feature

will enable efficiently manage instances of sudden increase in call traffic in the event of

accidents, natural calamities etc.

41. System should have facility to transfer voice-recording of caller in RailMadad.

42. Grievances in private trains run by IRCTC or new private players must be registered in

RailMadad by call centre agents.

43. Bidder should make sure that Option 1 of IVRS i.e. emergency situations like security, medical,

disaster safety, accidents etc. be advertisement free.

44. The investment in physical infrastructure should provide the facility of work-from-home to call-

centre agents. This is necessary to provide uninterrupted 139 services to customers in the

event of any emergency, pandemic etc.Facility to work for home/remotely of the agents may be

made available by the service provider. It is clarified that in such situation all the required

infrastructure shall be provided by the CCSP to its agents and the entire solution must be

accessible at the remote site the agent is working. Service levels along with all terms and

conditions provided in this RFP shall be applicable. All the agents must log in using VDI facility

so that the data is properly secured and nullifies any data breach.


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45. Bidder should provide an interactive live dashboard to the IRCTC for tracking and monitoring of

calls, call centre executive, cloud transactions, passenger data, SLA details and other KPIs on

the real time basis. The dashboard should be user friendly with cutting edge user interface and

downloadable MIS.

46. During the operations of the project, bidder should inform and take prior permission of work

from home for the call centre executive from IRCTC. Bidder should clearly specify and

document the percentage of the CCE working from home and office. This should be showcased

in the live dashboard as the part of monitoring and management.

S.No. Item Details

1 No. of Agents

Bidder shall estimate the number of Agents based on the Historical Call Volume, SLA and Scope of Work mentioned in the RFP.

2 Languages supported

13 Languages. Hindi, English, Punjabi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Oriya, Bengali, Assamese and Urdu.

3 Operations As per service window mentioned and consistent with the service level mentioned in Schedule V

4 Location Facility shall be in two places:

a) North (Delhi NCR-Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad, or Gurgaon)

b) South (Chennai, Hyderabad or Bangalore)

5 Service Window

24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year


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Responsibility of the Bidder:

S. No. Area Bidder

1 Help Desk Centre Infrastructure at TWO locations:

• Office space for Help Desk Centre operations • Headsets • Telephone Instruments • Desktop • Other applicable infrastructure components

Y

2 CRM Application Y

3 IVRS Y

4 ACD Y

5 Call barging and recording software Y

6 PRI/SIP Lines Y

7 Toll free number Y

8 Network Connectivity MPLS lines to CRIS Data Centre and Disaster Recovery Centre

Y


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Detailed Requirements


Page 157 of 191

6.17 Detailed Requirements

6.17.1 Business Services

Integrated Railway Helpline and Enquiry System (IRHES) provides customer care services via

call and SMS. System features a call distribution system, customized CRM, reporting and SLA

monitoring tools.

Functional description of services is as follows:

6.17.1.1 Call Based Services

1. System should provide multitude of call-based services including Medical Assistance,

Railway Enquiry, Catering Complaints, Complaints related to Railway Services, Vigilance,

Accident Related Assistance, Complaint Status Enquiry Services, Railway Helpline services

and other Value-added Services.

2. 139 customer service representatives should provide information related to Tatkal Seat

Availability, Cancellation & Refund Rule, Current Position of Trains, Coach & Platform

Information etc.

3. Details of services to be provided on Voice 139 (Incoming Calls) are as follows:

i. Security Helpline & Medical Assistance: Security & Medical Assistance Service helps the

passengers to register the grievance & seek the help related to RPF helpline & Medical

related emergency.

ii. Railway Enquiry:

a. PNR Enquiry: User can check the status of his Booking using PNR number.

b. Arrival/ Departure: This option gives information about train Arrival and Departure

timing on selected station, user can get the information using train number & STD

code of the station.

c. Seat Availability: User can check the berth/ seat availability through this IVR option

using train number, date of journey and class of travel.

d. Fare Enquiry: User can check the Fare of reserved class through this IVR option

using train number, date of journey and class of travel.

e. Dial-A-Ticket: This option is reserved for ticket booking service with agent assistance

by using credit or debit card.

f. System Ticket Cancellation: User can cancel their reserved ticket booked through

Railway Reservation counters.

g. Wakeup/ Destination Alarm: User can set an alarm in the form of voice call for the

journey, he/ she will get this alarm 30 minutes before the actual arrival of train at

destination station.

h. Wheelchair Booking: 139 customer service representative books the wheelchair for

station premises.

i. Dial-A-Meal: User can give meal booking request through this IVR option by using

PNR number.

iii. (Catering Complaint: Passengers, who are having any catering service-related issue, can

register their grievance through this option.

iv. General Complaint: Through General Complaint Option, passenger can register their

grievance related to various amenities/ services provided by Railway i.e. Cleanliness, Bed

Roll, Electrical Equipment, Water Related Problems, Luggage & Parcel Related

grievance, Refund Related Grievance, Staff Misbehaviour etc.

v. Vigilance Helpline: Vigilance Helpline Service enables an option for passengers to

register their grievance related to Bribery & Corruption.

vi. Accident Related Helpline: Passenger can get the relevant details regarding the Train

Accidents.

vii. Complaint Status: Passenger can check the status of their complaint through this option.

viii. To enable the services, bidder to provide technical support resources in every shift at

each of the 139 locations and a 24 x 7 support for the operation/ maintenance of the

system.

ix. Bidder to ensure no BOT/computer-based calls are accepted by the IRHES-139


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Figure below summarizes the functional flow of the call services:

6.17.1.2 SMS 139 based services

User can get the Information about train/ journey planning/ Seat Availability/ Current train

position and many more by sending SMS to 139 using simple keywords. Below mentioned

services are available on SMS 139:

a. PNR Enquiry: This gives the status of the ticket booking.

b. Current Position of Train: User can get the current position of train through this option.

c. Arrival/ Departure of Train: Through this option user can check the arrival/ departure time on

selected station.

d. Seat Availability (General/Tatkal/Ladies Quota): This option provides available seat/ berth

information in selected train.

e. Fare Enquiry: User can get Fare Information by using this option.

f. Train Number/Name Enquiry: User can get Train name by sending train number and can get

train number by sending train name using this service.

g. Train Timetable: This option provides Departure Time from Source Station, Arrival Time at

Destination Station, Days of Running and Available classes in selected train.

h. Platform Enquiry: This service provides schedule platform information for specific train on

specific station.

i. Trains Between Stations: This service provides a list of trains which are running between

selected stations along with the departure timing.

j. Train Route Information: Through this service user can get all the station names on which

that train is halting.

k. Train Schedule Information: User can get the schedule timings of all the en-route stations.

l. Next Train Information: This service gives the list of trains which are about to depart from

selected station in next 3 hours for a specific destination.

m. Station Code Information: User can get the Station code of any station through this service.

n. Destination Alert: User can register their alarm request using this option.

o. Meal Booking: Meal booking request can be registered through this service.

p. IRCTC User Registration & Activation: User can create/ activate IRCTC user id through this

option.

q. IRCTC Lounge Information: User can get the contact details of lounge helpline


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r. System Ticket Cancellation: User can cancel their reserved ticket booked through this option

using OTP validation.

s. Coach Mitra: User can register the grievance related to Train’s coach cleanliness.

t. Rail Madad: User can register any grievance related to services provided by Indian

Railways.

6.17.1.3 Rail Enquiry Application

a. The Rail Enquiry Application (REA) has passenger reservation system (PRS) static

database, which is replicated from the associated online PRS system once a day. Static

queries like trains between important stations, fare enquiry etc. are serviced using this local

database.

b. It enables answering of Dynamic queries i.e. Availability and PNR Status and any other

dynamic query by accessing the PRS data centres in real time.

c. NTES Static as well as dynamic database is replicated in the REA and all the queries

related to the train departure/arrival are serviced using this database.

d. REA provides a Web Services interface for integration with the IVRS and Agent application.

e. The REA fetches PNR & Availability information from the online PRS systems using a

Middleware component i.e. Reliable Transaction Router (RTR).

6.17.1.4 Value Added Services (VAS)

Monetization is allowed through the following channels on IVRS and SMS

a. Taxi Bookings/Car Rentals (Preference given to IRCTC channel partners).

b. Hotel Booking (Preference given to IRCTC Hotels).

c. Booking of Tourism Products (Preference given to IRCTC Tourism Products).

d. Railway Ticket bookings are allowed through IVRS/SMS using secured payment

mechanism. Payment can also be collected through web page.

e. SMS advertisement

Revenue from Advertisements on Waiting Period: It includes Jingle, slogans, signature

tunes, theme music etc. may be played during the call waiting periods. If the commercial

advertisements are brought by MSP, then IRCTC share 80% of revenue. However, if

the commercial advertisements are brought by IRCTC gets 100% of the revenue and

MSP has to provide provision for same on IRHES. MSP should ensure that the

advertisements do not adversely affect the call waiting times or offend the callers on any

account.


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Advertisement Terms & Conditions:

Bidder shall not promote discrimination based on gender, religion, race, nationality, disability

or sexual orientation. Shall not promote content that contain or promote pornography,

nudity, gambling, casino, dating, black magic, astrology, get rich quick, politics, religion,

sexual & reproductive health, references to sex & sexuality, esoteric, and any other

objectionable goods or services.

Bidder should adhere to the guidelines on general code of conduct and ethics for advertising

issued by Ministry of information & broadcasting from time to time.

Bidder should adhere to the guidelines issued by TRAI from time to time.

IRCTC/ Railway products Jingle will be played free of cost as and when required.

Revenue through Railway Reservation Service: MSP can generate revenue through Railway

Reservation by charging IRCTC defined agent charges from the customer, who is booking

ticket on 139 through IVRS/SMS only. Revenue from Value Added Services: Entire

revenues from Value Added Services, whatever is generated can be retained by MSP.

6.17.2 Infrastructure & Technology

This includes the entire infrastructure required for the establishment and management of

Regional Contact centres (including human agents) and its connectivity from IVRS and all

hardware, software & enabling system for IRHES (including RCCs), connectivity with

PRS/NTES LANs, integration of MPLS lines to CRIS Data Centre and Disaster Recovery

Centre.

Some of the key components are as follows:

6.17.2.1 Automatic Call Distributor (ACD): It should be pre-integrated with the IVR functions

such as:

I. Handling of high call volumes

II. configurable system for adding/removing users, assigning users to different queues

III. Relaying of the information messages (jingles) to voice callers waiting in queues or on hold

IV. Skill based routing: Standard features like Call Transfer, Conference, Barge in, Dialled

Number Identification Sequence (DNIS), Automatic Number Identification (ANI), Caller Line

Identification (CLI), etc.

V. Announce the queue waiting time for the caller before getting attended by an Agent

VI. Provide the capability of combining data with the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu

system that can intelligently route calls requesting further assistance to a smart Automatic

Call Distributor (ACD)

VII. Support relaying of the information messages (jingles) to voice callers waiting in queues or

on hold

6.17.2.2 Computer Telephone Integration (CTI)

I. Should be able to integrate with CRM

II. It shall be interfaced with the Core system of PRS/NTES to send/receive data which needs

to be populated

III. The CTI must be capable of activating the fast dialling feature of the ACD

IV. Call events should be handled from the system such as hold, conference, transfer etc.

6.17.2.3 CRM Application

I. Bidder will develop CRM application which is used for ticket logging and tracking and add

essential enhancements to the application as and when suggested by IRCTC

II. CRM shall maintain data regarding train enquiry (as provided by IRCTC).

III. CRM should also provide functionality to record complaints / grievances / feedback /

responses. All other standard/ application software required to run the IRHES Centre and


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meet SLAs shall be developed or provided by the SI.

IV. All reports, feedback data should be stored for a period of 2 years and should be made

accessible online to department officials securely on request.

V. In addition to above, CRM should have capability from day one to have analytics

functionalities like but not limited to:

a. View data in charts, graphs or raw data grids

b. Drill down into report data for more detail

c. Create, save and schedule custom reports

d. Track real-time metrics with dashboards

e. Export raw contact centre analytics data for further refinement

VI. To build and deliver services for the envisaged call centre

VII. Must provide for automated call capture. The solution must provide for all features in an

automated way with the agent need not do anything manually except for answering calls

and taking notes.

VIII. Automated call distribution (ACD) (including quality monitoring tool) with intelligent

routing features to various agents once the caller requests to direct the call to agents on

IVRS. It is clarified that call routing to various agents must be based on algorithms and

not on manual interventions. It must be able to distribute calls to all the agents in an

equitable way and not just to one or two.

IX. Access to quality monitoring tool (in ACD) to be provided to IRCTC officials

X. Must provide access to application interface to various agents

XI. It should enable geo-location facility which automatically identifies the caller by location.

XII. Call data management- the solution must have the capability to capture every detail

related to a call like a caller’s information and other call data from each incoming or

outgoing call will be and to store the same in the database system

XIII. Agents must be able to schedule automated call

XIV. Agents must have access to information and knowledge in real-time to deliver the correct

information to callers during calls. The solution must have case management

capabilities.

XV. Calls should only be enabled on desktops/laptops only and not on mobile phones of the

agents

XVI. The solution must scale at ease (as and when requested)

XVII. The solution must provide for 100% call recording

XVIII. The selected agency must store all call related data (including call recordings) and shall

provide uninterrupted support and access to record and information to IRCTC.

XIX. IRCTC shall have full access rights to the call records and pull them as and when

needed.

XX. The CCSP will be able to access the call records only after seeking approval of IRCTC.

No data will be used or taken out for any purpose which is not directly or indirectly

connected with IRCTC call centre operations.

XXI. The call recordings retention period (from the date of call) shall be minimum 3 months.

Post that CCSP shall either transfer all such data to IRCTC (at no extra cost to IRCTC)

or shall purge the data after approval of IRCTC.

6.17.2.4 Data Storage and Archival: The operational data such as Call, Chat, etc. being

generated during the operational period shall be stored and archived as per the standard

practices

6.17.2.5 Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS):

The Call Centre Service Provider shall also provision an Intelligent IVRS for the call centre

which meets the below requirements

I. IVRS must have features of ‘key press input’ and ‘speech to text’

II. IVRS must provide multi-lingual language selection option to the caller and all the pursuant


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information as provided in the IVRS shall be in the language selected by the caller.

III. IRCTC envisages the use of IVRS system to not just act as merely a filter options but also

to act as conversational, informative and transactional based system for the callers. The

objective of IVRS is to enable human like interactions of the system with the caller to solve

most of their queries

IV. The Call Centre Service Provider shall devise such IVRS which provides options to callers

and shall itself solve certain problems/queries of the callers without being re-directing the

call to the agents. The overall objective is to make an intelligent IVRS system which

attends to queries of the callers and make outbound calls to the various stakeholders.

V. The IVRS shall run on 24 x 7 x 365 basis i.e. round the clock and round the year.

VI. Music on hold and ability to upload specific recordings/ advertisements

VII. Call Centre Service Provider shall augment IVRS design workflows from time-to-time to

improve caller’s experience. The IVRS may provide the name of the agent to the caller to

whom the call is routed. The names need not to be the real names.

VIII. The solution must also provide for missed call facility and should have the capability to

obtain the appropriate phone number to be contacted, and the appropriate time within 24

hours for the call back.

IX. IVRS should be able to record caller’s feedback on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the

highest) signifying level of satisfaction of the caller and the same shall be mandatory at the

end of each call. Some standardized calls which convey a standard message should be

enabled through automated IVRS calls.

X. Auto-recognition of the caller on IVRS should be enabled through some key identifiers like

registered contact number

XI. IVR system should provide a call-back interface. The following event messages in direct or

indirect form should be sent through the call-back interface at runtime as the event

happened:

a. Answered - the call was successfully originated and the called party answered the

call.

b. No Answer - the originated call was unsuccessful because the called party did not

answer the call.

c. Busy - the originated call was unsuccessful because the called party was busy.

d. Failure - the call could not be originated due to a system error.

e. Completed - when the call is completed.

XII. IVR system should make available for a client application a Call Data Record (CDR) for

the completed call. DR should include at least the following data points:

a. Call unique identifier

b. Call Destination extension/number

c. Start of call (date/time)

d. Answer of call (date/time)

e. End of call (date/time)

f. Call duration in seconds (optional)

g. What happened to the call: ANSWERED, NO ANSWER, BUSY, FAILED

h. IVR Speech to Text should support all languages required for the specific

implementation

Natural Language Processor (NLP)/ Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

(AI/ML):This technology allows computer to interact with human users by processing the

voice inputs received by user and making informed decisions based on them.The

indicative list of functionalities achieved through NLP/AI/ML is as follows:

1. Responding to all the passenger queries on IRHES. If the passenger is not satisfied, NLP

solution should have the capability to forward the query to help desk official and update the

status of query to customer after its resolution.


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2. Leveraging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance contextual

understanding, generative responses and learning abilities while doing end to end

conversation with passengers.

3. Leveraging AI/ ML algorithms to identify and generate alerts for any anomalies in the data,

absence of data, any format change, etc. For example, if the passenger wants to know the

train status through SMS, the SMS to the passenger should have the relevant information

and in case any other information is shared with the user, the system should generate the

alert. Such kind of alert should be taken up with IRCTC within 2 hours of such glitch.

4. Providing an analytical tool which can analyse the passenger data created during

conversations based on various parameters like sentimental analysis, etc.

5. Interacting with the user and responding to various level queries raised in English.

6. Understanding & executing compound query, at the same time ability to identify different

intents and act upon both simultaneously.

7. Not storing any of the information entered by user anywhere locally on device and it should

be stored in encrypted format on servers only.

Futuristic Provisions for monetization and enhancements: The bidder shall have the

capability and should have enough provisions in the system for optimization and

monetization of the application/data. For example, any data monetization or any valuable

insights achieved through the existing data, etc.

6.17.2.6 Cloud Infrastructure

Cloud service requirements:

1. CSP should be a registered firm or a company in India and the proposed Data Centres

(DC & DR) should have jurisdiction in India

2. The CSP should not have been Debarred and / or blacklisted by any organizations of

Govt. of India/ Central PSU/ GoMP entities as on bid submission date

3. The CSP environment/Cloud should conform to at least Tier III standard (preferably

certified under TIA 942 or Uptime Institute certifications by a 3rd party) and implement tool-

based processes based on ITIL standards

4. Proposed Cloud Service Provider (CSP) should be STQC audited and MeiTY empanelled

and offer all services from India only as per guidelines of MeiTY

5. The Primary and DR Data Centre (Cloud) shall be physically located in India.

6. The proposed data centre must conform to Tier III or above guidelines for better availability

of cloud services

7. Data Centre should be either Seismic Zone-II or Seismic Zone-III only

8. The CSP should provide financially backed SLAs for all the services offered and these

SLAs should be declared in public portal of CSP.

9. The CSP should provide native marketplace with certified applications which can be

deployed on cloud. The CSP should also provide capability for administrators to create

private marketplace with images from the public marketplace.

10. The CSP should provide all variants of cloud service as per MeiTY guidelines.

a. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS),

b. Platform as a Service (PaaS) c. Software as a Service (SaaS)

11. The CSP should have minimum following experiences.

a. Providing the Public Cloud Services (PaaS, SaaS) in India for last 5 years 12. Should have hosted at least minimum 10 Government / Private Customer reference

a. Should have minimum 05 reference of Government Entity in India for providing (PaaS, SaaS) Services.

13. CSP should have accreditations relevant to security, availability, confidentiality, processing

integrity, and/or privacy Trust Services principles. SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3

14. Data Centres should be compliant at a minimum with the following:


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a. ISO 9001

b. ISO/IEC 27001

c. ISO/IEC 27017

d. ISO/IEC 27018

e. PCI DSS Level 1 15. The cloud services should provide scalable, redundant, dynamic compute and storage

16. Service shall provide users with the ability to procure and use compute and storage

capabilities remotely over the SSL with two factor authentications.

17. Perform an Image backup of Customer VM Image information or support the ability to take

an existing running instance or a copy of an instance and import / export the instance into

a MeitY approved image format.

18. Configuration and Management of the Virtual Machine shall be enabled via a web browser

over the SSL VPN clients only as against the public internet

19. The bidder shall ensure that VMs receive OS patching, health checking, Systematic Attack

Detection and backup functions.

20. Monitor VM up/down status and resource utilization such as RAM, CPU, Disk, IOPS and

network

21. The purchaser retains ownership of all virtual machines, templates, clones, and

scripts/applications created for the organization’s application

22. The purchaser retains the right to request full copies of these virtual machines at any time.

23. The purchaser retains ownership of loaded business solutions / bespoke software installed

on the VMs

24. Support a secure administration interface - such as SSL/TLS or SSH - for the purchasing

organization’s designated personnel to remotely administer their virtual instance

25. Provide the capability to dynamically allocate virtual machines based on load, with no

service interruption

26. Provide the capability to copy or clone virtual machines for archiving, troubleshooting, and

testing

27. The bidder should provide tools and mechanism to the purchaser or its appointed agency

for defining their backup requirements & policy.

28. The bidder should provide tools and mechanism to the purchaser or its appointed agency

for configuring, scheduling, performing and managing back-ups and restore activities

(when required) of all the data including but not limited to files, folders, images, system

state, databases and enterprise applications in an encrypted manner as per the defined

policy.

29. Transfer data back in-house either on demand or in case of contract or order termination

for any reason

30. Bidder shall not delete any data at the end of the agreement (for a maximum of 90 days

beyond the expiry of the Agreement) without the express approval of the purchaser.

31. Provide capability to perform live migrations (ability to move running VM’s) from one host

to another.

32. Provide support to all Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) including REST API that

bidder develops/provides.

33. Bidder should offer fine-grained access controls including role-based access control, use

of SSL certificates, or authentication with a multi-factor authentication.

34. Cloud service should support auditing with features such as what request was made, the

source IP address from which the request was made, who made the request, when it was

made, and so on.

35. Purchasing organization should be permitted to bring and upload additional properly

licensed non-operating system software for operation in cloud as required for the

Purchasing organization solution for use within the Services by installing it directly on a

VM.

36. RAM or CPU of virtual machine should scale automatically whenever there is spike in load


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to deliver application availability even during spike in load

37. Provide facility to configure virtual machine of required vCPU, RAM and Disk.

38. Data Storage: Native cloud-based solution can be used if it adheres to the requirements.

These components should be cited with the specifications and customer references.

39. Bidder is responsible for Disaster Recovery Services to ensure continuity of operations in

the event of failure of primary site of the purchasing organization and meet the RPO and

RTO requirements. The CSP should offer dashboard to monitor RPO and RTO of cloud

infrastructure and systems.

40. The bidder should design the solution adhering to RTOs, RPOs and the SLAs. Based on

the requirements, MSP is free to construct a solution mix of MeitY empanelled Public and

Private Cloud setup to meet the requirements of the RFP but should also ensure that

fundamental principal of cloud of scalability, elasticity and agility is maintained.

41. Design and document an efficient disaster recovery solution in line with the RFP

requirements & ensuring best practices on disaster recovery as per RTO = 120 mins and

RPO = 30 mins.

42. The bidder should offer switchover and switchback of individual applications instead of

entire system.

43. Any lag and/or loss in data replication should be reflected in terms of the business

requirements in terms of the defined RTO and RPO impact.

44. Support replication of data between primary and DR cloud environment

45. Allow replication of data between cloud and on-premise sites

46. When the purchaser or bidder (with prior approval of the purchaser) scales down the

infrastructure services, MSP / CSP is responsible for deleting or otherwise securing

purchaser’s content/data prior to VM deletion and in case deleted, shall ensure that the

data cannot be forensically recovered.

47. Any change in CSP post submission of credential of a CSP by Lead Bidder/Bidder may

lead to disqualification and cancellation of the contract

48. Bidder should maintain a MieTY empanelled CSP for the entire duration of the project.

6.17.2.6.1 Cloud operational requirements

1. Manage the network, storage, server and virtualization layers, to include performance of

internal technology refresh cycles applicable to meet the SLAs

2. Provide a secure, dual factor method of remote access which allows the

purchaser’s designated personnel (privileged users) the ability to perform duties on the

hosted infrastructure

3. Upgrade and periodically replace hardware without financial impact to the purchaser. All

the data within it shall be immediately deleted/destroyed and certify the VM and data

destruction to the purchaser as per stipulations and shall ensure that the data cannot be

forensically recovered.

4. Bidder to perform patch management appropriate to the scope of their control including:

5. Alerts on the upcoming patches via email and management portal, and ability to defer or

reject patches before they are applied in the next patch cycle

6. Patch approved VMs on the next available patch management change window

7. Application of automated OS security patches, unless deferred or rejected by purchaser or

designated agency

8. Send regular approval reminders to purchaser or authorized agency designated email

address five (5) days prior to patch cut-off dates

9. Bidder should undertake OS level vulnerability management – all OS images created

within the cloud platform are regularly patched with the latest security updates

10. Provide the artefacts, security policies and procedures demonstrating its compliance with

the Security Assessment and Authorization requirements as described in Security

Requirements in this RFP.


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11. Monitor availability of the servers, CSP -supplied operating system & system software, and

CSP’s network

12. The bidder is fully responsible for tech refreshes, patch management and other operations

of infrastructure with regards to the cloud environment (DC and DR).

13. Investigate outages, perform appropriate corrective action to restore the hardware,

operating system, and related tools

14. Bidder should manage CSP provisioned infrastructure including VMs as per the ITIL or

equivalent industry standards.

15. Comply with technology refresh requirements as mandated by CERT-IN and MeitY

16. Software within the CSP’s scope will never be more than two versions behind unless

deferred or rejected by MeitY / Purchaser / Purchaser’s authorized agency

6.17.2.6.2 Cloud management reporting requirements:

1. Provide service level management reports (as per the service levels agreed in the Service

Level Agreement between the purchaser and the CSP)

2. description of major outages (including description of root-cause and fix) resulting in

greater than 1-hour of unscheduled downtime within a month

3. Helpdesk tickets reports submitted

4. Monthly and quarterly utilization reports (peak and average volumetric details)

5. Bidder should provide a portal for the purchaser (administration role) which should provide

data related to:

a. Utilization reports (with threshold limits defined by the user)

b. SLA reports

c. Cloud service usage

d. Helpdesk and tickets

e. User profile management

6. The bidder should set the baseline threshold limits for cloud infra utilization.

7. In the event of cloud infra utilization breaching the baseline threshold limits, the CSP is

required to notify the purchaser and MSP with adequate justifications for increasing

baseline capacity.

6.17.2.6.3 Scope of work for infrastructure provisioning on cloud for data centre includes

the followings:

1. The CSP should propose Data Centre site which lie in seismic zone different from that of

the proposed Disaster Recovery Centre.

2. MSP to ensure scalability of the DC cloud environment considering the future growth for

next 5 years.

3. Installation and commissioning of Servers as per solution requirement.

4. Installation and provisioning of Storage and backup as per solution requirement.

5. Installation and commissioning of Software (OS/VM/backup software) along with relevant

and requisite patches

6. Installation and commissioning of requisite Clusters for High Availability.

7. Installation and commissioning of Network and Security equipment for providing secured

network environment.

8. Liaison with Network Bandwidth Service Provider for Link provisioning and commissioning.

6.17.2.6.4 Scope of work for infrastructure provisioning on cloud for disaster recovery

includes the followings:

1. The CSP should propose Disaster Recovery Data centre site which lie in seismic zone

different from that of the proposed data centre.

2. For continuous adoption of rapidly evolving technology the entire system would be built to

be open (standards, open API, plug-n-play capabilities), components coupled loosely to


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allow changes in sub-system level without affecting other parts, architected to work

completely within a heterogeneous compute, storage, and multi-vendor environment.

3. The solution would be done keeping in mind the scalability of the system. Every

component of System needs to scale horizontally to very large volume of data

4. The Disaster Recovery Site should host all the critical production Landscape.

6.17.2.6.5 Scope of work for network infrastructure provisioning between cloud and CRIS

data centre and disaster recovery centre includes the followings:

1. MSP to ensure Installation and commissioning of the MPLS Network environment between

IRHES cloud and CRIS data centre and disaster recovery centre

2. Installation and commissioning of Network and Security equipment for providing secured

network environment.

3. Integration with CRIS data centre and disaster recovery centre for required applications as

mentioned in General requirement section of scope of work

4. MPLS Connectivity should allow Layer 3 connectivity and allow BGP protocol for dynamic

routing.

6.17.2.6.6 Change in CSP

At any point of time during the duration of the project, it might be decided to migrate to an

on premise private cloud environment or to any other cloud service provider (Hereafter

refer to as the new environment) depending upon the situations that might be observed.

Accordingly, it would be the responsibility of the MSP to make sure all the provisioned

resources in the Cloud Service provider (including the data) is migrated back to the new

environment. The decision to move back to the new environment would rest upon IRCTC.

The following point should be noted in this aspect:

1. The MSP would need to check and re-size the application and infrastructure to the new

environment including all the licenses

2. Data migration would be the responsibility of the MSP. MSP should ensure that all

requisite interfaces to existing systems are available.

3. Operating process for working in the new environment would have to be defined by the

MSP.

4. The MSP should make sure that adequate support is available from CSP for the purpose

of migration to new environment. For the same reason, the MSP should choose a model of

deployment on Cloud Service Provider taking the consideration that the model should be

easily portable to the new environment.

5. The MSP should design the migration strategy keeping in mind that there should not be

any down time during the transition.

6.17.2.7 IT Security Requirements

The overall objective of the bidder shall be to provide IRCTC a cyber-security framework to

defend against cyber threats and risk. The bidder shall share threat, vulnerability and

incident information in a timely manner. As part of this project, the Call Centre Service

Provider is required to address basic security hygiene in its infrastructure to ensure

confidentiality, integrity and availability of IRCTC related data processed by the Call Centre

and other confidential information of IRCTC. Selected service provider

shallberesponsibletoprotecttheprivacy,confidentiality,andsecurityoftheIRCTCsdata.Selected

bidders must comply with international standards for data protection including ISO 27001,

andapplicableregulationsincludingITActandAmendments,AadhaarAct(asapplicable)andRegu

lations,andproposed data privacy act and regulations including Data Protection Act and

other applicable laws and regulations, which IRCTC may want the Selected bidders to

comply with. Selected bidders shall ensure that these security and privacy requirements are

been adequately implemented across the setup. The effectiveness shall be evaluated on a

regular basis to ensure the continuity of security and privacy requirements. The Selected

service provider shall ensure the security and privacy requirements including, but not limited


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to the following:

1. Ensure the compliance to security requirements as detailed above and also to

requirements and guidelines published by IRCTC from time to time. Selected service

provider shall also ensure the compliance to upcoming security and privacy requirements

as and when these become applicable.

2. Setup an assurance process to periodically review the compliance to security and privacy

requirements.SelectedbiddermustensurethatcompletedataofIRCTCshallresidewithinIndiaonl

yensuringdatalocalization.

3. Ensurethatduringthedevelopmentoftheproducthasbeenperformedusingsecuringcodingpractic

esandthroughdevelopmentmethodologyas per OWASP guidelines

4. Selected bidders shall be responsible for maintenance of all soft ware managed with latest

updates, specifically related to security vulnerabilities.

5. Host the systems and devices processing the data within the data centres located in India.

6. Ensure policies & procedures for secure disposition of electronic data on which the data

resides (e.g., wiping hard drive, or other method of destruction)

7. Ensure maintenance of system and application audit logs in line with applicable regulations

including IT Act and Amendments, Aadhaar Act (as applicable), and any other Regulations

made applicable from time to time as well as retention policy of IRCTC

8. Ensure in case of any incident/breach notification timely (Not more than 24 hrs of

identification) intimate appropriate stakeholders of IRCTC and respond to incidents / breach

as per the Regulatory requirements, and international best practices.

9. IRCTC shall have authority to conduct (or through external agency) periodical assessment

of the security requirements to ensure compliance with security policies, procedures, and

Regulations.

10. Selected bidders shall have an appropriate contingency plan (including backup) to recover

the application services/data as and when required (including during any disaster)

11. Data back-up shall be tested periodically and report to be shared with IRCTC

12. The Call Centre Service Provider shall keep the confidentiality, maintain secrecy of all

confidential information and shall not, at any time, divulge such or any part thereof to any

third party except as may be compelled by any court or Selected bidders of competent

jurisdiction, or as otherwise required by law, and shall also ensure that same is not

disclosed to any person voluntarily, accidentally or by mistake.

The roles and responsibilities of service provider shall include, but not limited to, the following

activities:

1. Provide trusted mechanisms, solutions to facilitate sharing of threat, vulnerability and

incident information as per the format agreed in consultation with IRCTC

2. Facilitate IRCTC during the assessment of security environment and threat perceptions if

conducted by IRCTC.

3. The bidder is required to implement the security solution of IRCTC in line with the minimum-

security requirements stated in the RFP as well as the leading standards and guidelines

stated in the RFP at no additional cost to IRCTC. Further, any security risk / vulnerability

identified during the project should be mitigated by bidder, at no additional cost to IRCTC.

However, if IRCTC identifies any additional security up-gradation/ components / measures,

which were not covered as part of the RFP, the bidder shall be responsible for implementing

it in consultation with IRCTC.

4. Establishing subject matter expert committees and teams, including the Threat Intelligence

and Incident Response Team, which shall provide in-depth analysis of risks to the

stakeholder and provide technical, business and operational impact assessments as well as

strategies to mitigate risk.

5. Conduct process-based Risk assessment on a periodic basis

6. Perform security services on the components that are part of the IRCTC environment as per


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security policy finalized with IRCTC.

7. Reporting security incidents and resolution of the same

8. Proactively monitor, manage, maintain & administer all security solutions

9. The SIEM solution and the required technologies should be integrated with the ticketing

solution and should ensure the required automation for ticket generation

10. Providing root cause analysis for all defined problems including hacking attempts.

11. Monthly reporting on security breaches and attempts plus the action taken to thwart the

same and providing the same to IRCTC.

12. Maintaining documentation of security component details including architecture diagram,

policies and configurations.

13. Performing periodic review of security configurations for inconsistencies and redundancies

against security policy.

14. Performing periodic review of security policy and suggest improvements.

15. Performing capacity management of security resources to meet business needs.

16. Rapidly resolving every incident/problem within mutually agreed timelines.

17. Testing and implementation of patches and upgrades.

18. Implementing and maintaining security rules.

19. Performing any other day-to-day administration and support activities.

20. Configuration, installation, integration and commissioning of the entire security solution

stack.

21. Manage generation, scheduling and storage of daily logs and incident reports

22. Every solution shall have their own management and reporting

23. Technology functionalities as stated for the technologies in the RFP but not limited to should

be factored.

24. The Data Centre Facility on cloud shall at a minimum implement the security toolset:

Security & Data Privacy (Data & Network Security including Anti-Virus, Virtual Firewall,

Single Sign on, UTM, One Time Passwords, Multi Factor Authentication, Log Analyzer /

Syslog, SSL, DDOS Protection, HIDS / NIDS, Rights Management, SIEM, Integrated

Vulnerability Assessment, SOC, Private Virtual Zones, Web Application Filter for

OWASP Top 10 protection, Data Privacy, Data Encryption, Certifications & Compliance,

Authentication & Authorization, and Auditing & Accounting)

25. Following must be adhered for compliance and implementation wherever applicable by

bidder

a. ISO 27001:2013 b. The implementation of proposed solution should be based on ISO 27002 compliance c. ISO 27018:2019 - Code of practice for protection of personally identifiable information

(PII) in public clouds d. Cloud Security ISO Standard ISO 27017:2015, e. Information Technology Act 2000, Section 43A, Penalty and compensation for

damage to computer, computer system, etc. f. Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 g. The compliances should be adhered as per its latest version released

26. All the security as per MeitY guidelines should be provisioned and followed.

27. The sizing of the security solutions should be done by the bidder based on the load

estimated.

28. Solution deployed should be in high availability in DC and DR.

29. All the proposed solution should be integrated with the SIEM solution.

30. All the system should have auto scalable based on the requirements

31. Should adhere to the ever-evolving guidelines as specified by CERT-IN (http://www.cert-

in.org.in/)

32. The OEM of the offered product/service should be in Magic Quadrants for the latest report

published by Gartner/Forrester up to the time of closing of Tender or can be proprietary

solution of the cloud vendors.

http://www.cert-in.org.in/

http://www.cert-in.org.in/


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33. The end user computing devices (laptops / desktops) should have appropriate security

solutions such as (Anti-Virus – Anti Malware etc.) to avoid security breach.

34. All assets used by Call Centre (business applications such as Phone, operating systems,

databases, network etc.) for the purpose of delivering services to IRCTC under this project

shall be identified, labelled and classified

35. List of authorized personnel having access to IRCTC resources shall be maintained,

updated and shared with IRCTC on a quarterly basis.

36. Only authorized individuals shall be provided access to information assets processing such

as CRM, other applications, call recordings etc.

37. Call Centre facility or area used for calling or taking calls from the passengers or any

stakeholder shall be restricted with electronic access control and access shall be provided

on the need basis and least privilege based on approval

38. Periodic reconciliation of various access (logical and physical) shall be performed by Call

Centre

39. The Call Centre Service Provider shall conduct background checks for its entire staff

working in this assignment through an agency. Background checks should cover at least the

following: education, criminal record, employment history etc. Call Centre Service Provider

shall maintain the results and share with IRCTC (if required by IRCTC)

40. All staff shall sign a confidentiality agreement/NDA.

41. Periodic Information security training shall be provided to all the staff members. This must

cover various security requirements.

42. Secure connectivity shall be established between Call Centre and DR

43. All systems including desktops, laptops, servers, network devices etc. used for providing

services shall be hardened as per the industry best practices such as CIS Benchmarks.

Only licensed IP phones shall be installed in the Call Centre infrastructure

44. Call Centre Service Provider shall ensure that the latest patches are installed on all the

information assets. The patch management process shall be defined and documented by

Call Centre Service Provider.

45. Anti-virus software must be installed on all systems used to. Virus definitions shall be

updated on a daily basis from the Anti-virus server and daily scans shall be run on the

systems.

46. Security policies such as strong password, password history, password expiry, system login

timeout, no admin access, screensaver etc. shall be applied as per IRCTC policy and

specifications issued from time to time. Active Directory or similar system shall be used to

automatically enforce security policy on all systems

47. Network, operating system, database, application, configuration reviews and other

information security assessment shall be carried out annually and/or during a significant

change in the Call Centre ecosystem by an independent third party and results will be

shared with IRCTC.

48. Call logs of the critical user-activities, exceptions and security events shall be enabled and

stored to assist in future investigations and access control monitoring;

49. Call barge in facility shall be disabled by default on all phones. Only specific phones that

may require barge in facility for quality monitoring purposes shall have call barge in facility

enabled only after business and risk team approvals

50. Identity Information shall not be stored on the workstation and in case if it is required then

Call Centre Service Provider shall ensure that the identity information is encrypted using

strong cryptography controls.

51. Call recordings with caller identity information shall be encrypted;

52. End to end security testing of the applications used by the Call Centre shall be provisioned

by the Call Centre Service Provider. The testing results shall be shared with IRCTC

periodically.

53. The Call Centre Service Provider shall get its operations audited by an information systems


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auditor certified by a recognized body under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and

furnish certified audit reports to the Authority, upon request or at time periods specified by

the Authority.

54. IRCTC shall reserve the right to audit systems and processes of the Call Centre on an

annual basis and/orneed basis to ensure compliance with stipulated security policy

published time to time, but not limited to this document. The audit plan shall include

information security and technical testing controls required to protect IRCTC information

assets. IRCTC shall share the findings of the audit with the Contact Centre;

55. If any non-compliance is found as a result of the audit, the Call Centre shall:

a. Determine the causes of the non-compliance;

b. Evaluate the need for actions to avoid recurrence of the same;

c. Determine and implement corrective action;

d. Review the corrective action taken.

56. Call Centre and their partners shall ensure compliance to all the relevant laws, rules and

regulations, including, but not limited to, ISO27001: 2013, Information Technology Act 2000

and 2008 amendments and other prevailing laws.

57. Call Centre Agents shall ask minimum data, relevant to Call Centre operation from the caller.

Agents must not collect any information from the caller which is not relevant to the operations.

Agents must be aware of information that needs to be asked from caller depending on the

various call types.

58. The Call Centre Service Provider’s facility, infrastructure and ecosystem shall be subjected to

the requirements under the information security policy of IRCTC.

6.17.3 Analytics and Reporting: Dynamic Dashboard/ MIS Report

The selected Bidder shall provide a performance dashboard of the IRHES 139 operations, this

shall include (but not limited to) all the SLA parameters mentioned in this RFP.

The first cut of the performance dashboard shall be prepared and submitted to IRCTC for

review, IRCTC shall provide the feedback and suggestions on this performance Dashboard and

the Bidder should implement and submit the revised dashboard within the defined timeline. It

may be noted that the performance dashboard may be upgraded from time to time as per the

project requirements and the bidder should implement those with no additional cost.

In addition, the Bidder should also be capable of generating Ad-hoc/customized reports/ MIS as

per IRCTC’s requirement such as:

1. MIS shall generate reports based on: -

a. Type of queries/grievances

b. Repeat Request/Complaints

c. Detailed Analytics on all the SLA’s, reasons for non-compliance, call statistics e.g., time

wise, region wise, zonal wise, station wise, train wise, department wise, severity etc.

2. It shall generate Queue analysis reports. The below mentioned queue analysis list is including

but not limited to: -

a. Number of Waiting Calls

b. Average Call Time

c. Average Waiting Time

d. Abandoned Calls

3. It shall generate different types of reports on Number of calls: -

a. Total Number of Calls- Inbound

b. Number of Calls Diverted to Help Desk Centre CSE’s from IVR

c. Number of calls dropped on the IVR stage

4. It shall generate CSE reports (Summary for All the CSE’s, and Detailed by each CSE’s):

a. Login & Logout Time


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b. Average Speed of Answer Time

c. Average Talk Time

d. Average Handling Time

e. Average Hold Time

f. Average Wrap up time

g. Number of Dropped Calls before Pickup

h. Number of Dropped Calls after Pickup

i. Idle Time

j. No answer etc.

5. Call Centre Service Provider shall provide a Reporting/Analytics team to prepare performance

dashboard of the call centre operations, this shall include (but not limited to) all service level

parameters mentioned in this RFP. This reporting/MIS team may or may not be dedicatedly

assigned for IRCTC operations.

6. Access to all dashboards shall be provided to IRCTC officials

7. The first cut of the performance dashboard shall be prepared and submitted to IRCTC for

review and approval within 15 calendar days from the date of go-live. The first cut of the

performance dashboard shall contain all the operational service levels mentioned in this RFP

(refer schedule V)

8. IRCTC shall provide the feedback and suggestions within 7 working days of submission of the

performance dashboard.

9. The performance dashboard should be finalized within 20 days from the date of IRCTC’s

feedback and expectations.

10. In addition, this team should also be capable of generating Ad-hoc/customized reports/ MIS

as per IRCTC’s requirement.

11. The report format shall be flexible and shall be made available either in excel, pdf, txt or any

other user-friendly structure/format on the request of IRCTC from time to time. The report

should be configurable to be e-mailed to a defined mailing list.

12. CCSP should be able to analyse the call recordings and provide the dashboard of trending

words fortnightly or as per IRCTC requirement.

13. Detailed BCP Plan and Quarterly audit of BCP by IRCTC IT and Call centre team

14. Monthly Call centre review by IRCTC officials

15. SLA Dashboards variance from contracted levels of performance

16. Operational review findings and process recommendations

17. Overall responsiveness of the call centre to address strategic issues identified in previous

reviews

The report format shall be flexible and shall be made available in web interface, excel, pdf, txt, or

any other user-friendly structure/format on the request of IRCTC from time to time. The report

should be configurable to be e-mailed to a defined mailing list.All reports may be validated by a

third-party auditor. The functional requirement related to Data Analytics to be embedded in the

system is given in Annexure section point 5.20.1.

6.17.4 Capacity Building & Training

Training programme of all the contact centre agents, executives, supervisors and managers

should also be indicated in the proposal. REF shall implement a well-structured training

process to upgrade / update skills of agent, supervisor & other managerial staff of Contact

centres.

Training process shall be periodic and shall include training on contact centre skills as well as

skills related to Railway information & helpline domain.

The REF shall provide training for IRCTC and Railway Staff in contact centre operations &

management. A Project Manager will also be nominated from IRCTC for giving broad overview

of domain knowledge. Further, specific training will have to be given by REF to the nominated

staff of IRCTC.


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6.17.4.1 Orientation Training

Post Issuance of LOI (Letter of Intent) to the selected Bidder, IRCTC will conduct an

orientation workshop along with the Existing Vendor to provide process training with regards

to existing process being followed and key learnings. Post this handholding, Bidder will be

responsible for gaining knowledge of the existing system from the current Vendor of 139. The

Knowledge Transfer from the existing Vendor shall be completed in 30 days’ time frame post

which no query shall normally be entertained.

1. An initial briefing/orientation workshop shall be conducted by IRCTC either at IRCTCs

premises or through electronically or at Call Centre Service Provider’s premises to

provide process training related to scheme, IRCTCs eco-system. The Call Centre Service

Provider shall be required to identify master trainers who shall attend such training. Below

is the tentative agenda of the training: -

a. Introduction to schemes information.

b. Possible complaint types and its resolution.

c. Portability Issues and other related issues

2. The orientation workshop will help the Call Centre Service Provider for smooth roll out of

the initial batches and shall also help Call Centre Service Provider in designing IVRS as

per requirement. Thereafter, based on the workshop,the Call Centre Service Provider is

expected to develop aIRCTC Training Module & a test process for on-boarding of future

resources and submit the same to IRCTC for review and approval within one calendar

month of go-live date.

3. IRCTC will review and approve the training module and the test process. In case of any

changes suggested by IRCTC, changes shall be incorporated and submitted to IRCTC

within 15 days from the date of suggestion. It should be revised and submitted for

approval every quarter. Standard Response templates (SRTs) may require to be changed

very frequently which will be communicated to Call Centre Service Provider on need

basis. Subsequently, Call Centre Service Provider shall update the training modules and

impart internal trainings to Agents on the floor.

6.17.4.2 Resource Training

The selected Bidder shall be responsible for conducting IRHES 139 specific resource on-

boarding training withing two months of issuance of LOI for its staff which will be handling

IRHES Contact Centre.

This training shall include training of basic call/chat/email/app store handling skills, IRHES

specific knowledge & services, soft skills, etc.

The selected Bidder is also expected to evaluate each trainee’s performance through

appropriate test process. The resources clearing the training evaluation test (The resource will

only be allowed 2 attempts to clear the test) shall be forwarded for on-job training. The period

for on-boarding training should be at least 3 working days. The selected Bidder is required to

maintain the results and evidences of training evaluation test and evidences for attending

training for each trainee and make them available to IRCTC or third-party auditors as and

when requested by IRCTC. At no time, any resource not clearing the evaluation test should

be deployed to the IRCTC’s project.

6.17.4.3 On-Job Training

The selected Bidder shall also be responsible for providing on-job training to resources

qualifying the training evaluation test. The methodology used for on-job training may include

shadow resource, continuous monitoring, call audit and feedback etc. The period for on-job

training for each resource should be of at least 15 days post clearing the training evaluation

test.


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1. The Call Centre Service Provider shall also be responsible for providing on-job training to

resources qualifying the training evaluation test.

2. The period for on-job training for each resource should be of at least 15 days post clearing the

training evaluation test. During the on-job training, it is mandatory that the call centre agent

handle live calls at least for 2 hours every day.

3. The number of people hired as per process requirements, along with Attrition replacements

will be part of the 15 days OJT program. This program ends in final certification of the agent to

attend calls independently.

6.17.4.4 Refresher Training

1. Fortnightly refresher training shall be conducted by CCSP process trainers, based on the

training need identified of the agents (Queries received, Areas where agents find it difficult to

answer, process updates received from IRCTC). Each session shall end with a brief

assessment. Record of attendance & assessment scores to be maintained for audit purposes

by IRCTC.

2. As and when new process updates are available, IRCTC may conduct re-fresher training for

the Call Centre Service Provider’s resources deployed on this project. The refresher training

will be on a Train the Trainer basis.

3. If the training is organized at IRCTC’s offices, the trainees of the Call Centre Service Provider

are required to travel to IRCTCs office (cost to be borne by the Call Centre Service Provider).

IRCTC will try to intimate the Call Centre Service Provider at least 7 days prior to training

date, for necessary travel arrangements; It is clarified here that IRCTC shall not make any

additional payment in respect for any travel made for this purpose.

4. As and when new process updates are available, all call centre agents are required to

mandatorily complete the refresher training resource within a weeks' time. The Call Centre

Service Provider shall provide an undertaking to IRCTC post completion of training of all

agents.

6.17.5 Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement

The selected Bidder is expected to deploy dedicated quality assurance team for entire

duration of the contract. The quality assurance team should be independent of the operations

and training team. The quality assurance team should have the facility of remote call listening.

The quality assurance team is responsible for the following, but not limited to: -

a. Ensuring that the resources deployed are in confirmation to minimum qualification set

out in ‘Resource On-Boarding’ in this section.

b. Monitoring 5% calls of all the Call Service Executives during on-job training.

c. Monitoring the performance of Call Service Executives by reviewing at-least 15 calls

per Call Service Executives per month.

d. Performing root cause analysis for repeated failure in service delivery.

e. Providing help in enhancing the existing training modules, frequently asked

questions, etc. that help improve in-house operations as well as provide analysis to

IRCTC for issues being faced by Passengers with regards to IRCTC/Railways.

f. Provide Improvements in User engagement.

g. The Call Centre shall have capacity to ramp up/down the operations as per

requirements and be able to manage sudden spikes.

h. Geographical spread of agents in different locations with cross training for

inbound/outbound processes is necessary

The selected Bidder shall be required to prepare Knowledge base for frequently reported

problems along with the resolution steps/solutions with IRCTC/IR’s help.

Monthly, bidder shall carry out the analysis of the calls (open and closed) to identify the

recurring incidents and conduct a root cause analysis on the same. Bidder shall submit a

report to IRCTC with the analysis and provide inputs to IRCTC. The objective of the analysis


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shall be to address the repeat incidents and enhance the delivery of services to the end

users.

Bidder shall prepare and submit reports to IRCTC as per the mutually agreed reporting

structure. These reports shall include but not limiting to the following:

a. Incident logs (category, severity and status of call etc.)

b. Incidents escalated

c. SLA compliance/non-compliance report with reasons for non-compliance

d. Detailed analysis of the calls containing opportunities of automation, trainings, FAQs,

etc.

e. Call Service Executives utilization reports

f. MIS reports

6.17.6 Exit Management

Exit Process and Management Plan shall be submitted by successful bidder within 3 months

of starting the operations (go-live). Please refer Schedule II of this RFP for details on the

Exit Management.

6.17.7 Implementation Requirements

Bidder shall follow the schedule as mentioned below. Each of the deliverables should be

accompanied with a presentation on the deliverable by the bidder. The submission of

deliverable will be deemed complete after the submission of the hard / soft copy of the

deliverable and the presentation by the bidder.

The implementation plan is divided into following tracks, here -T (“Letter of Intent/LoA”)

a. Inception Phase: T + 15 days

b. Design Phase: T + 30 days

c. Development and Integration- T + 60 days

d. Testing and Implementation: T + 90 days

e. User Acceptance and Go Live: T + 91 days

f. Operation and Maintenance- Five Years

The following services at the minimum shall be provided by Bidder as part of implementation

and rollout:

6.17.8 Design Phase

6.17.8.1 Project Planning and Monitoring

a. Bidder shall adopt a comprehensive and efficient Project Management methodology to

ensure that project milestones are tracked and met. Bidder will be required to finalize the

Project plan to determine and agree on the project expectations, ground rules, work plan,

communication matrix, timelines, Quality Plan, Configuration Management Plan etc within

15 days of effective date of signing of the contract with IRCTC. Following activities would be

covered under Project Planning and Monitoring:

i. Finalize a set of activities for the project with identification of resource assignments, roles

and responsibilities against each activity

ii. Prepare a project plan including milestones

iii. Communicate the project plan to stakeholders

iv. Measure project deadlines and budget utilization figures

v. Project Quality Plan shall document specific process elements and the quality actions

that the project intends to implement. This shall include the derivation of quality goals,

standards followed, schedule of quality assurance activities in the project, defect control,

correction and preventive methodology, handling process deviations.


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vi. Configuration Management Plan shall contain procedures to be implemented for

managing the configuration of the software solution to be produced by the project. In this

plan, bidder shall identify configuration items, responsibilities of configuration controller,

access restrictions, directory structure needed for configuration management, procedure

for change control, method of tracking the status of configuration items, backup

procedure, configuration audits, release management, archival procedure, procedure for

version / revision numbering.

The detailed project plan shall clearly specify the various project milestones and project

deliverable schedules. It shall also include the following:

i. Project Organization and Management plan

ii. System Design and Development plan

iii. Implementation plan

iv. Pre-commissioning, Operational and User Acceptance Testing Plan

v. Design, Delivery and Installation Plan for Software, Hardware and Network

vi. Training Plan

vii. Support Service Plan

viii. Task, Time, and Resource Schedules (List of tasks, the dependency among the

tasks, the duration to perform the tasks, the resources allocated to perform the tasks,

the scheduled start and finish dates for the task)

ix. Post-support Service Plan

x. Technical Support Plan

xi. Quality Assurance and Control Process details which must include (but not limited to)

xii. Detailing on Metrics, Reviews, Problem Reporting and Corrective action etc.

xiii. Technical and Operational Process which must include (but not limited to) detailing on

Methods, Tools, Techniques etc.

b. The detailed project plan shall be internally reviewed for completeness and correctness by

Bidder and subsequently delivered to the IRCTC for its review and acceptance. The mutually

agreed Project Plan will form the basis for regular project monitoring.

c. Bidder shall hold fortnightly review meetings with the IRCTC for providing detailed report on

the progress of the project (Project Progress Report) clearly highlighting the activities

completed in the reporting period, activities planned for the next reporting period, deviations

from the planned dates, issues / concerns affecting the project progress, impact on the overall

project timelines, project related risks with their mitigation plans.

d. Bidder shall ensure proper configuration management functions are being performed as per

the configuration management plan. Bidder’s Project Manager shall review the activities

periodically.

e. Bidder’s independent quality assurance team shall conduct regular reviews / audits of the

project and ensure that the project adheres to the project plan documents.

6.17.8.2 Requirement Gathering

a. The bidder shall study the detailed requirements specifications as listed in the RFP. The

bidder is required to validate and further elaborate the same based on discussion with IRCTC

and/or their designated agencies. Functional requirements covered under various sections

have been identified from business process and other documents designed during the initial

phases of the project for the bidder to refer.


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b. Bidder shall understand the business processes and other related documents and seek

clarifications from IRCTC, if any.

c. If found necessary to modify the designed processes and other documents for successful

implementation, the same shall be discussed and the relevant documents shall be modified

as and when required during the project implementation

d. Bidder shall interact with the target end users as well as IRCTC and CRIS project team to

gather requirements. It is expected that Bidder gathers requirements through structured

questionnaires, focused interviews with user groups.

e. On gathering the requirements, Bidder shall analyse these requirements to ensure the

requirements are complete, accurate, consistent and unambiguous.

6.17.8.3 Software Development, Customization, Rollout for Applications

Guidelines for Software Development and Testing

a. Bidder shall carry out development or customization of all the solutions using its own

infrastructure including but not limited to servers, storage, software licenses, automated

testing tools etc.

b. Bidder shall ensure that the COTS solution, if any selected are such that they are configured /

customized with minimal modifications to the source code.

c. Bidder shall implement quality standards like CMM/ CMMi for the entire life cycle of the

project. The quality process shall include adequate processes for coding, change

management, defect tracking, testing, review and other software development life-cycle

processes.

d. Bidder shall develop and maintain the Test Environment including required licenses and

hardware using its own infrastructure for the complete contract period.

6.17.9 Implementation

a. Planning: Bidder, in coordination with IRCTC, shall prepare a detailed Implementation Plan

that shall include activities such as User Training and Application Rollout. Bidder shall also

carry out activities to prepare documentations.

b. Documentation

i. Bidder shall develop manuals such as User Manuals, Training Manuals, FAQ & Trouble

Shooting Guide, etc. as agreed upon with IRCTC for different kinds of users such as

System Administrator, Super user, Normal user.

ii. Bidder shall ensure that the documentation is in line with the defined documentation

standards.

iii. Bidder shall use tools for creation of Help documents, User manuals etc. that minimize

the documentation and change efforts.

6.17.9.1 Testing Stage

Under the Testing stage, Bidder shall carryout Integration Planning & Testing as well as

System Test Planning & Testing phases. The following sections explain the scope of each

phase Bidder shall perform.

a. The bidder shall demonstrate the following mentioned acceptance criteria prior to

acceptance of the solution as well as during project operations phase, in respect of

scalability and performance etc.

b. The bidder may propose further detailed Acceptance criteria which the IRCTC will review.

Once IRCTC provides its approval, the Acceptance criteria can be finalized.

c. In case required, parameters might be revised by IRCTC in agreement with bidder and the

revised parameters shall be considered for acceptance criteria.


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d. The bidder would set up a testing environment in its own facility that is separate from the

development, staging and production environment.

Note:

a. Bidder needs to provide the details of the testing strategy and approach including details of

intended tools/environment to be used by the bidder for testing in its technical proposal.

IRCTC does not intend to own the tools.

b. The bidder shall work in a manner to satisfy all the testing requirements and adhere to the

testing strategy outlined. The bidder must ensure deployment of necessary resources and

tools during the testing phases. The bidder shall perform the testing of the solution based on

the approved test plan, document the results and shall fix the bugs found during the testing.

It is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure that the product delivered by the bidder meets

all the requirements specified in the RFP. The bidder shall take remedial action based on

outcome of the tests.

c. The bidder shall arrange for environments and tools for testing and for training as

envisaged. Post Go-Live; the production environment should not be used for testing and

training purpose. If any production data is used for testing, it should be masked, and it

should be protected. Detailed process in this regard including security requirement should

be provided by the bidder in its technical proposal. The process will be finalized with the

selected bidder.

d. All the Third-Party Auditors (TPA) as mentioned above will be appointed and paid by IRCTC

directly. The bidder can also suggest the auditors who may be appointed by IRCTC at its

sole discretion. All tools/environment required for testing shall be provided by the bidder.

e. STQC/Other agencies appointed by IRCTC shall perform the role of TPA. The bidder needs

to engage with the TPA at the requirement formulation stage itself. This is important so that

unnecessary re-work is avoided, and the audit is completed in time. The audit needs to be

completed before Go-Live of different modules. The bidder needs to prepare and provide all

requisite information/documents to third party auditor and ensure that there is no delay in

overall schedule.

f. The cost of rectification of non-compliances shall be borne by the bidder.

6.17.10 Operations and Maintenance

The bidder will operate and maintain all the components of the IRHES 139 for a period of five

(5) years from the date of Go-Live. The Operation and Maintenance part is divided into the

following parts:

6.17.10.1 Application Support and Maintenance

Application support includes, but not limited to, production monitoring, troubleshooting and

addressing functionality/availability and performance issues and implementing system

change requests etc. The bidder shall maintain the application software in good working

conditions; and perform changes and upgrades to the applications as requested by the

authority. All tickets related to any issue/complaint/observation about the system shall be

maintained in an ITIL compliant comprehensive ticketing solution. Key activities to be

performed by the bidder during the application support phase are as follows:

1. Compliance to SLA

The bidder shall ensure compliance with SLAs as indicated in this section of this RFP and any

upgrades/major changes to the software shall be planned by the bidder while ensuring that

the SLA requirements are met at no additional cost to the authority/ IRCTC.

2. Annual Technology Support

The bidder shall be responsible for arranging annual technology support to the IRHES for the

OEM products provided by respective OEMs during the entire O&M phase. It is mandatory for


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the bidder to take enterprise level annual support over the entire contract duration at minimum

for the software(s) mentioned below:

Operating System

Virtualization layers

Database

Analytics tool

All third-party products/ engines deployed in the IRHES 139

3. Application Software Maintenance

The bidder shall provide continuous and indefinite support through on-site team/telephone/E-

mail/Video Conferencing/installation visits as required. The bidder shall address all the

errors/bugs/gaps in the functionalities of the solution (vis-a-vis the FRS, BRD and SRS signed

off) at no additional cost during the O&M phase.

All patches and upgrades from OEMs shall be implemented by the bidder. Technical

upgrades of installation to the new version, as and when required, shall be done by the

bidder. Any version upgrades of the software/tool/application will be done by the bidder after

seeking prior approval from the IRCTC and submitting the impact assessment of an upgrade

as such.

Any changes/upgrades to the software performed during the support phase shall be subject to

comprehensive and integrated testing by the bidder to ensure that the changes implemented

in the system meet the specified requirements and do not impact any other existing functions

of the system. A detailed process in this regard will be finalised by the bidder in consultation

with the IRCTC.

An Issue log shall be maintained by the bidder for the errors and bugs identified in the solution

as well as any changes implemented in the solution and shall be periodically submitted to the

IRCTC.

The bidder will inform the IRCTC (at least monthly) about any new updates/upgrades

available for all software components of the solution along with a detailed action report. In

case of critical security patches/alerts, the bidder shall inform the IRCTC immediately along

with any relevant recommendations. The report shall also contain the bidder’s

recommendations on update/upgrade, benefits, impact analysis etc. The bidder needs to

execute updates/upgrades though a formal change management process and subsequently

update all documentations and Knowledge databases etc. The bidder will carry out all

required updates/upgrades by following defined processes at no additional cost.

4. Database Administration, Maintenance and Management Services

a. Management of database environment to maintain performance at optimum levels

b. End-to-end management of database on an ongoing basis to ensure smooth functioning of the same.

c. Tasks including, but not limited to, managing changes to database schema, disk space, storage, user roles etc.

d. Conduct code and configuration reviews to provide inputs to IRCTC to improve the performance or resolve bottlenecks if any.

e. Performance monitoring and tuning of the databases on a regular basis including, preventive maintenance of the database as required.

f. Report backup status on a regular basis and ensure prompt problem resolution in case of failures in the backup processes.

g. Manage database upgrade or patch upgrade as and when required with minimal downtime.

h. Regular backups for all databases in accordance with the backup and archive policies and recovery whenever required with appropriate permissions. Testing of backup media


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should be undertaken from time to time to ensure availability of data. Bidder should coordinate with IRCTC for back-up activities

5. Problem identification and Resolution:

a. Errors and bugs that persist for a long time, impact a wider range of users and are

difficult to resolve in turn lead to application hindrances. The bidder shall resolve all the

application problems through implementation of the identified solution (e.g. system

malfunctions, performance problems and data corruption etc.)

b. Monthly reports on problems identified and resolved would be submitted to the IRCTC

team along with recommended solutions.

6. Change and Version Control

All planned or emergency changes to any component of the system shall be carried out

through the approved Change Management process. The bidder always needs to follow all

such processes (based on industry ITSM framework). For any change, bidder shall ensure:

a. Detailed impact analysis is conducted

b. All Change plans are backed by Roll back plans

c. Appropriate communication on change required has taken place

d. Requisite approvals have been received

e. Schedules have been adjusted to minimize impact on the Production environment

f. All associated documentation is updated post stabilization of the implemented change

g. Version control is maintained for all software changes

The bidder shall define the Software Change Management and Version Control Process.

For any changes to the solution, the bidder must prepare detailed documentation including

proposed changes and impact to the system in terms of functional outcomes/additional

features added to the system etc. The bidder shall ensure that software and hardware

version control is carried out for the entire contract duration.

7. Maintain configuration information: The bidder shall maintain version control and

configuration information for application software and any relevant system documentation.

8. Maintain System documentation: The bidder shall design, update and maintain all the

System documentations of the IRHES. These documents shall be up to date and shall be

shared IRCTC on the regular basis. The bidder should follow latest industry standards to

design and maintain the documentations.

9. All project documents need to follow a proper version control mechanism. The bidder will be

required to keep all project documentation updated and ensure the updated project

documents are submitted to the IRCTC by the end of next quarter in case of any change.

10. For application support, the bidder shall assign a dedicated software support team to be

based at the bidder’s location as a single point of contact for resolution of all application

related issues. This team will receive and resolve all the application related tickets/incidents.

In the technical proposal, the bidder needs to provide the proposed application support team

structure including the number of team members proposed to be deployed along with roles

and skills of each. The Application support team shall comprise of the bidder’s employees.

11. Any software changes required due to problems/bugs in the developed software/application

will not be considered as part of change control and will have to be completed by the bidder

at no additional cost (even if it requires any enhancements/customizations).

6.17.10.2 Master Data Maintenance

The bidder shall be responsible for maintaining all the internal and external master data for

the platform


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6.17.10.3 Web based SLA Monitoring Tool

Bidder should deploy Web based SLA Monitoring Tool for monitoring all the SLAs as

specified in the RFP.

a. The SLA Monitoring tool shall be tested, audited and certified for its accuracy, reliability

and completeness before it is implemented by the bidder.

b. The selected tool must be from latest Gartner’s magic quadrant leader’s list/equivalent

position in Forrester wave/ leader in IDC marketspace (As a supporting document the

bidder must provide for relevant report of latest Gartner’s magic quadrant leader’s list/

equivalent position in Forrester wave/report of IDC).

c. The IRCTC will periodically conduct quality reviews (preferably quarterly) to ensure that

the tool is monitoring SLAs properly.

d. The bidder will work with IRCTC officials to design these reports as per specific

requirements. The solution provides both real time dashboards and historical view

reporting of the SLA's at to the relevant stakeholders of IRCTC.

e. The SLA monitoring tool should be able to monitor all the service levels defined in the

service level agreement.

f. The SLA Monitoring tool should be web based

g. The tool should be also accessed by smart devices over internet/local airport LAN

h. The SLA monitoring tool will be tested in the Acceptance Phase for acceptance

i. The proposed tool should use smart visualization and graphics

Some of the minimum indicative features of the SLA Monitoring tool includes

a. Integrated performance view of all the SLAs along with various threshold violations for

each service level.

b. Indicate the baseline, breach, lower and high-performance scores against each of the

service level metric in a graphical form.

c. Dashboard must show bidder action taken on each of the SLA breach/ timelines for

resolution etc.

d. The proposed tool should enable users to generate Pre-defined, Standard and Ad-hoc

reports

e. Allow users to generate report with pre-defined fields to get a real-time view of the system

from the portal;

f. Pre-defined Reports will be generated at pre-defined frequencies and will be available for

to the users

g. Standard reports would include reports where report generation criteria are fixed and

options for the same are available to the User. The User can select a combination of

options and submits a request for generation of a report. The system generated the report

and the same would be made available on the User dashboard;

h. Ad hoc Reports: These reports can be generated by the User by raising ad hoc queries.

These would provide the ability to generate ad hoc reports as and when required by

selecting any field, table or column (as per Database design) by drag and drop feature

from the table.

6.17.10.4 Application Monitoring Services

The bidder should ensure exceptional end-user experience and consistently high service levels

that meet business objectives by monitoring all end-user transactions 24x7 with low overhead.

The application performance monitoring solution should accurately measure end-user

transaction performance to prove IT is delivering against SLAs, business objectives and vendor

commitments. APM should be deployed with the objective of improving IT productivity and

control costs by quickly and accurately diagnosing problems occurring deep within the

application and infrastructure, pinpoint failures and speed problem resolution.


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The services to be provided by the bidder for Application Monitoring which includes following

but not limited to:

a. Web/ API services

b. Application server

c. Database server

d. Middleware

e. Value Added Services

f. Other components as proposed by bidder

Application monitoring should map all transactions to the dependent infrastructure in real time

for a single view of application health, business process flow and the entire transaction path to

quickly triage issues

6.17.10.5 Storage Administration & Management Services

a. Management of storage environment to maintain performance at optimum levels.

b. Management of the storage solution including, but not limited to, storage management

policy, configuration and management of disk array, SAN, tape library, etc.

c. Storage management, including but not limited to management of space, volume,

Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks configuration, LUN, zone, security, business

continuity volumes, performance, etc.

6.17.10.6 Workflow Management:

a. Workflow management module shall enable the workflows for various business processes.

This shall include process tasks and routing. Workflow shall allow configuring various users

into the business processes for various kinds of approvals / rejections.

6.17.10.7 Backup and Archival Services

The services to be provided by bidder shall include:

a. Backup of storage as per the defined policies.

b. Monitoring and enhancing the performance of scheduled backups, schedule regular testing

of backups and ensuring adherence to related retention policies as defined by IRCTC.

c. Prompt execution of on-demand backups of volumes and files whenever required or in case

of upgrades and configuration changes to the system.

d. Real-time monitoring, log maintenance and reporting of backup status on a regular basis.

e. Media management tasks, including, but not limited to, tagging, cross-referencing, storing,

logging, testing, and vaulting in fireproof cabinets (onsite and offsite).

f. 365x24x7 support for file and volume restoration requests at the DC

g. Call recording shall be maintained by the bidder for the period of at least 2 months.

6.17.10.8 User Profiles & Account Management

Access management provides the right for users to be able to use a service or group of

services. Access management is the process of granting authorised users the right to use a

service, while restricting access to non-authorised users. The system should be able to identify

and authorize the users and would allow access to IRHES and database. The user access

management system would be able to identify the rights available with the user in terms of

viewing, addition, deletion, modification of the data and generation of various reports through

MIS.

6.17.11 Technical Support

The technical support track includes running centralised helpdesk setup and operations for

IRHES project for a period of 5 years from the date of Go Live.


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1. The help desk will primarily handle technical queries of internal stakeholders which includes

IRCTC, IR, CRIS etc. relating to IRHES.

2. The bidder shall follow the implementation plan for the helpdesk launch as specified in the

project timelines.

3. Helpdesk is required to ensure that the above-mentioned stakeholders can log calls and

complaints for any technical issues they face while using the IRHES. The following is included

in the scope of work of bidder:

4. Landline/mobile number will be taken by bidder in IRCTC's name. This number will be

published, and internal stakeholders can call this number for their issues.

5. Help Desk to have Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system for first level of call segregation.

6. In addition to the telephone call, the bidder shall also provide other channels for call logging

like email and web interface.

7. Language Capabilities: Hindi and English

8. The bidder shall deploy helpdesk application accessible to all users through the IRHES for

logging issues.

9. The service window for Help Desk is 365X24X7 (Monday to Sunday).

10. The helpdesk is also expected to handle queries after their Go-live. The help desk will serve

as single point of contact for reporting/resolution of all tickets (queries, errors, incidents,

issues either application or infrastructure or operations related).

11. Considering the nature of the services, the bidder should decide for imparting proper training

in soft skills; call handling, exposure to related application to prepare the CSEs to answer

different types of queries, and on other aspects of Help Desk.

12. The bidder should ensure that all the staffs are put on actual duty only after providing them

proper training

13. Before deployment of staff, he/she need to undergo training for at least a week time covering

above areas. Certificate of such training need to be submitted on quarterly basis to IRCTC.

The helpdesk would have following major activities and tasks:

1. Issues logged by users through Helpdesk should be accessed and serviced by the helpdesk

personnel.

2. Track and route requests for service and to assist end users in answering questions and

resolving problems. Assign severity level to each ticket as per the SOPs.

3. Acknowledgement should be sent to user along with service ticket number through an email

immediately on call logging.

4. Routing the query received to the concerned team of the bidder for resolution of tickets

5. Notifying users, the problem status and resolution through the tickets over email.

6.18 Project implementation Schedule

6.18.1 Timelines and Deliverables of the Project

Bidder is expected to follow the schedule as mentioned below. Each of the deliverables

should be accompanied with a presentation on the deliverable by the bidder. The submission

of deliverable will be deemed complete after the submission of the hard / soft copy of the

deliverable and the presentation by the bidder. The “Expected Date of Completion” as

mentioned in the table below is the date by which the deliverable shall be submitted to the

IRCTC. The Bidder shall ensure that the deliverable is accepted by the IRCTC as per

schedule mentioned in the table below post review.

Based on the present trend in Contact centre across the world the overall project shall be of

5-year duration which can be extended by another 2 years, since both the hardware and

software is constantly updating, and technology lifecycle is usually 5 years.


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The IRHES is to be executed in a phased manner. Phases are as below:

1. Inception Phase

2. Design Phase

3. Development and Integration Phase

4. Testing and Implementation Phase

5. User Acceptance and Go Live

Phase wise deliverables and timelines are given in table below:

Table 1: Implementation Plan

Phase Deliverable Timelines in

days Milestones

Inception

Date of issuance of Letter of Intent T0

Project Charter

T0+15 days Final Submission of Inception

deliverables

Manpower Training Plan

Functional Requirement

Specification Document

Infrastructure requirements

System Design Document

Solution Architecture

Network Design Document

Hosting Plan

Design

Business Layer Modules Design

Document T0+30 days Final Submission of Design

deliverables Reports and Dashboard Design

Development

and

Integration

Development of IVRS modules

T0+60 days Completion of Development

and Integration deliverables

Development of Reporting

Modules

Setup of hardware infrastructure

Setup of network infrastructure

Development of System, software

and communication module

Integration Testing Report

Testing and

Implementatio

n

Functionality Testing Report

T0+90 days

Submission of testing reports

and closing of all the issues

identified during testing User Acceptance Testing Report

User

Acceptance

and Go Live

T0+91 days Start of Help Desk Centre

operations


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6.19 Minimum Resource Requirements

6.19.1 Overview

IRCTC expects the selected Bidder to deploy adequately skilled and trained resources to

answer users of IRHES, to provide a consistent and high-quality experience along with a high

percentage of first-time resolution (FTR). To ensure this, IRCTC would expect the selected

Bidder to deploy minimum resources as mentioned below: -

a. Project Manager

b. Team Leaders

c. Solution Architect

d. Network Expert

e. IT Security Expert

f. Contact centre Agents

The selected Bidder is required to do the resource planning and resource deployment, while

maintaining the minimum qualification as mentioned in the technical evaluation criteria.

For estimation of manpower, bidder can refer to Annexure A which provides the

historic call volumes.

Also, the bidder can refer to the Annexure C for call distribution as per language to

deploy the resources to handle callers.

Please note that both the annexures are the calls made to 139 and shall have no

bearing on the fulfilment of SLAs.

6.19.2 Key Personnel

I. Contact centre Agents: The individuals recruited to perform the role of IRHES Contact

centre Agents should meet a minimum qualification of having passed 12th class. They should

have excellent knowledge of desired language and working knowledge of English.

II. Contact centre Team Leaders: The individuals to perform the role of IRHES Contact centre

Team Leaders should have at least 8 years of contact centre experience, in leading teams of

agents under them. The span of control should be limited to 1 Team Leader per shift.

III. Project Manager: The SI will assign a dedicated Project Manager for the IRHES Contact

centre. The individual designated to perform the role of Project Manager for the contact centre

should have relevant experience of 10 years or above in managing large scale projects in

other Contact centre set-ups. He/she should have experience in managing helplines in large

scale projects.

6.19.3 Expected effort from Key personnel deployed by Bidder

Please Note this is the minimum no. of resources which are expected to be deployed by the

selected agency.

S. No. Resource Deployment Number

1. Project Director Implementation Phase – 3 months

Operation and Maintenance - 60 months

1

2. Team Leaders Operation and Maintenance - 60

months 6

3. Solution Architect Implementation Phase – 3 months 1

4. Network Expert Implementation Phase – 3 months

Operation and Maintenance (as and when required)

1

5. IT Security Expert Implementation Phase – 3 months


1


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S. No. Resource Deployment Number

6. Data Analyst Implementation Phase – 3 months


1

7. Data Scientist Implementation Phase – 3 months


1

8. Contact centre Agents

Operation and Maintenance - 60 months

100

9. Trainer As and when required 1 trainer per 60

resources

All resources must have basic computer knowledge i.e. ability to use computer, MS word, MS

excel, understanding of IT applications, CRM etc. The following are the resource

requirements that the bidder to provide for each of the IRCTC’s processes mentioned in this

section.

SNo. Resource Minimum Qualification Minimum Experience

1. Project Director

Graduate with Post-graduate in management/MBA

Minimum 10 years’ experience in contact centre/BPO operations

Experience in directly managing teams of large (more than 100 gents) callcentre projectsminimum 10 projects

2. Team Leaders

Graduate and ability to speak English and Hindi proficiently and the regional official languages as may be specified by IRCTC


Experience in directly managing teams of large (more than 100 agents) call centre projects minimum 2 projects

3. Solution Architect

B.E./B.Tech/MCA (Computer Science)

Certified in Enterprise Architecture

Minimum 10 yrs. of experience in IT Solution Architectures

4. Network Expert

B.E./B.Tech/MCA (Computer Science/Electronics/IT)

Minimum 10 yrs. of experience in designing end-to-end Network Solutions

5. IT Security Expert

B.E./B.Tech (Computer Science)

Minimum 10 years’ experience in IT security

6. Data Analyst

BE/B.Tech/MCA (Computer Science/Electronics/IT)

Minimum three years of experience of working on data analytics tools like SAS, Power BI, Tableau etc.

At least one year of experience as a data analyst in analytics project.


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SNo. Resource Minimum Qualification Minimum Experience

7. Data Scientist

BE/B.Tech/MCA (Computer Science/Electronics/IT)

Minimum five years of experience of working on data modelling tools like Python, SQL, R etc.

At least two years of experience as a data scientist in analytics project.

8. Contact Centre Agents

Graduate and ability to speak English and Hindi proficiently and the regional official languages as may be specified by IRCTC

Minimum 06 months experience in contact centre/BPO operations

9. Trainer

Must be a graduate or higher in any discipline. must be trained on COPC (or similar) methodology


Minimum 3 years’ experience in delivering training capacity building (on client’s business) in contact centre/BPO operations

Please note that this is the minimum no. of resources which are expected to be deployed by

the selected agency. The bidder is expected to deploy adequate number of resources to

comply with the SLA as mentioned in Scheduled V.

Please note that the REF shall have to provide adequate IVRS capacity and update the

response call flow structure in such a way so as to ensure that at least 85% of the calls

coming to the Call Centre are disposed-off by the IVRS.


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6.20 Annexure A: Monthly Calls on 139 from July 2007 to Mar 2021

Months 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Jan 1,58,92,967 2,44,36,795 2,07,99,265 1,97,55,099 1,78,02,748 1,42,12,116 1,24,64,298 90,15,518 94,39,734

Feb 1,48,87,466 1,76,52,063 1,90,22,365 1,79,30,924 1,34,26,035 1,25,37,073 1,01,36,393 86,61,332 71,21,981

Mar 1,54,51,720 1,72,34,261 1,95,78,510 1,90,89,626 1,35,44,000 1,28,21,871 1,02,85,402 86,52,714 65,22,520

Apr 1,85,48,574 1,96,79,063 1,87,11,149 2,06,04,507 1,42,38,160 1,27,28,108 1,02,24,193 89,87,284 66,84,891

May 2,34,77,346 2,58,35,455 2,32,52,894 2,24,79,418 1,76,88,918 1,42,10,508 1,23,03,138 94,03,240 78,04,512

Jun 2,07,43,375 2,51,30,607 2,10,39,994 2,13,52,889 1,50,66,300 1,21,90,787 1,06,76,941 80,97,997 66,67,880

Jul 1,61,96,837 2,10,94,312 1,82,04,903 1,88,87,584 1,33,00,439 1,02,52,582 93,87,228 77,30,005 53,77,408

Aug 1,60,60,586 1,74,92,230 1,71,31,629 1,62,53,369 1,22,47,724 1,01,84,020 88,55,525 72,86,566 59,17,529

Sep 1,59,71,136 1,63,72,474 1,66,31,090 1,40,88,936 1,13,25,667 95,21,199 83,54,836 70,63,613 51,80,405

Oct 2,08,13,905 1,97,47,524 2,08,90,161 1,71,67,430 1,43,13,037 1,15,19,428 95,87,756 83,06,341 45,50,809

Nov 1,94,80,288 2,21,53,545 2,14,72,211 1,85,18,201 1,44,77,186 1,02,75,562 96,80,927 81,99,821 57,69,165

Dec 2,04,57,266 1,99,11,656 2,21,82,516 1,90,09,507 1,46,73,734 1,36,56,720 1,01,21,395 1,02,43,832 58,56,823

Total 21,79,81,466 24,67,39,985 23,89,16,687 22,51,37,490 17,21,03,948 14,41,09,974 12,20,78,032 10,16,48,263 7,68,93,657

Avg/day 5,97,209 6,76,000 6,54,566 6,16,815 4,71,518 3,94,822 3,34,460 2,78,488 2,10,668


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Months 2019 Railway Enq 2019 Rail Madad 2020 Railway

Enq 2020 Rail

Madad Tejas

2021 Railway Enq

2021 Rail Madad Tejas

Jan 67,62,283 - 63,09,192 10,15,266 58,465 39,92,162 7,84,791 67,567

Feb 65,97,761 - 61,41,021 10,56,671 77,375 34,21,290 7,31,282 65,131

Mar 68,19,172 - 61,94,741 11,61,447 97,161 39,81,232 8,29,219 78,160

Apr 78,48,812 - 43,30,795 8,09,213 50,468 May 85,57,939 - 40,89,028 8,93,997 73,984 Jun 87,35,331 - 39,49,187 8,96,796 73,908 Jul 73,19,553 5,56,431 33,91,985 5,85,053 47,366 Aug 69,16,591 11,29,408 33,32,615 6,17,119 50,036 Sep 58,26,540 9,16,454 36,82,398 6,97,378 54,281 Oct 74,71,584 9,44,213 38,63,826 7,16,657 61,435 Nov 72,65,264 9,42,741 33,26,357 8,24,184 77,378 Dec 69,28,201 9,46,276 36,92,277 8,97,592 94,296 Total 8,70,49,031 54,35,523 5,23,03,422 1,01,71,373 8,16,153 1,13,94,684 23,45,292 2,10,858

Avg/day 2,38,490 29,541 1,42,906 27,791 2,230 31,218 6,425 578


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6.21 Annexure B: Monthly SMS on 139 from July 2007 to March 2021

Months 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Jan

15,06,825 45,82,641 53,90,926 54,74,356 76,37,586 56,89,791 41,20,505 37,52,582 21,19,986 35,14,961 37,98,807 17,97,836

Feb

29,97,737 32,45,356 38,92,088 47,05,973 75,40,584 45,45,269 36,50,025 29,46,831 18,69,730 27,22,840 36,16,498 16,83,463

Mar

38,09,321 35,10,724 45,79,390 49,30,873 65,13,949 46,53,248 43,30,882 28,16,436 18,11,725 35,30,859 24,99,708 12,07,446

Apr 87,131 71,46,153 40,34,057 60,56,891 54,33,537 60,17,478 53,83,905 50,92,178 33,99,904 21,43,843 47,09,572 3,46,366 May 8,43,064 1,01,34,216 83,73,111 63,55,222 80,13,842 77,61,740 67,99,219 54,69,921 45,31,184 38,32,349 50,39,705 2,93,371 Jun 12,50,611 1,08,53,961 61,98,116 64,36,814 60,65,798 69,36,748 54,30,434 43,30,438 34,32,310 19,33,559 44,20,854 8,24,208 Jul 6,15,190 52,55,360 43,56,102 45,57,067 42,93,934 47,44,320 40,03,821 37,12,134 21,74,473 13,08,467 31,70,313 7,40,964 Aug 6,62,320 52,00,889 41,56,703 40,40,078 38,95,695 48,21,940 36,59,278 35,45,198 21,77,013 13,06,988 34,19,391 8,91,126 Sep 8,33,345 30,09,364 41,53,003 36,29,483 36,43,848 43,88,755 36,07,786 33,08,554 21,24,305 11,57,378 32,96,552 11,25,513 Oct 13,64,379 48,30,120 63,61,201 53,62,763 56,18,151 61,14,889 46,23,999 42,86,363 26,94,980 13,96,038 41,65,894 11,68,844 Nov 8,83,116 61,27,194 63,29,234 64,91,879 66,60,805 50,90,032 52,30,143 44,46,214 23,67,733 20,07,802 41,69,978 17,54,573 Dec 12,84,502 59,38,822 59,82,976 61,38,467 66,54,035 64,55,077 52,50,884 47,61,331 23,86,345 20,97,735 43,08,042 17,97,278 Total 78,23,658 6,68,09,962 6,12,83,224 6,29,31,068 6,53,90,847 7,40,23,098 5,88,77,777 5,10,53,743 3,48,04,096 2,29,85,600 4,64,68,961 1,88,57,256 46,88,745

Avg/day 28,450 1,83,041 1,67,899 1,72,414 1,79,153 2,02,803 1,61,309 1,39,873 95,354 62,974 1,27,312 51,523 12,846


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6.22 Annexure C: Call Volumetric as per language

Language No. of Calls Contribution

Hindi 130,035 84.40%

English 12,786 8.30%

Punjabi 1,162 0.75%

Gujarati 710 0.46%

Marathi 1,956 1.27%

Kannada 1,685 1.09%

Malayalam 726 0.47%

Tamil 2,752 1.79%

Telugu 2,266 1.47%

Bengali

Oriya

Assamese

Total 154,078 100.00%