TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
Request for Proposal (RFP) to undertake a Market Study on “Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds for Big Tech Companies and Core Digital Services (CDS)”
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....equest for Proposal (RFP) to undertake a Market Study on “Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds for Big Tech Companies and Core Digital Services (CDS)” <br>Corp. Laws, SEBI & IBC<br>Dated:- 4-11-2025<br><BR>The Ministry of Corporate Affairs intends to engage an agency/institution for conducting a Market Study on "Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds for Big Tech Companies and Core Digital Services(CDS) of Schedule I". Proposals are invited as per the RFP attached. Salient features of the study and instructions for submitting the proposals and other details are available in the RFP document which can be accessed at GeM portal and MCA website(www.mca.gov.in) and can be downloaded. You are requested to submit your response on or before the stipulated date & time as mentioned in the RFP document. Balamurugan Devraj Joint Secretary Ministry of Corporate Affairs 5th Floor, A-Wing, Shastri Bhawan New Delhi - 110001, India ============= Document 1 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) M C MINISTRY OF CORPORATE A AFFAIRS GOVERNMENT OF INDIA सà....
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....¤¤à¥à¤¯à¤®à¥‡à¤µ जयते Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds for Big Tech Companies and Core Digital Services (CDS) (Visit us at www.mca.gov.in) Ministry of Corporate Affairs 5h Floor, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi - 110001, India (https://www.mca.gov.in/content/mca/global/en/home.html) 2 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) DISCLAIMER This RFP document is neither an agreement nor an offer by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to the prospective bidders. The purpose of this RFP is to provide information to the interested parties that may be useful to them in the formulation of their proposal pursuant to this RFP. The information given in the RFP is not an exhaustive account of any issue/matter falling within the scope of the study and should not be used for the purposes of any proceedings, legal or otherwise. The information contained in the RFP does not amount to an expression of opinion of MCA. MCA will not be liable in any manner whethe....
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....r resulting from negligence or otherwise arising from reliance of any agency/person upon any statements contained in this RFP. The issue of this RFP does not imply that MCA is bound to select an agency and reserves the right to accept/reject any or all of the proposals submitted in response to this RFP document at any stage without assigning any reasons whatsoever. MCA also reserves the right to withhold or withdraw the process at any stage. The agency shall bear all its costs associated with or relating to the preparation and submission of its Proposal including but not limited to preparation, copying, postage, delivery fees, expenses associated with any demonstrations or presentations which may be required by MCA or any other costs incurred in connection with or relating to its Proposal. MCA shall not be liable in any manner whatsoever for the same or for any other costs or other expenses incurred by an agency in preparation or submission of the Proposal, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the selection process. MCA reserves the right to change/ modify/ amend any or all provisions of this RFP document. 3 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Ma....
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....rket Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) LIST OF ACRONYMS AcronymReference to MCAMinistry of Corporate Affairs EMDEarnest Money Deposit GSTGoods and Service Tax LOILetter of Intent NOCNo Objection Certificate PBGPerformance Bank Guarantee RFPRequest For Proposal TORTerms of Reference 4 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) INDEX CONTENTS I.INTRODUCTION.7 II.OBJECTIVE8 IIISCOPE8 IV.METHODOLOGY10 V.KEY EVENTS AND DATES10 VI.IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: DELIVERABLES/TIMELINES.11 VII.COORDINATION MECHANISM11 VIII.PRE-QUALIFICATION/ ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA11 IX. PAYMENT SCHEDULE13 X. GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL13 (A) TECHNICAL PROPOSAL13 (B) FINANCIAL PROPOSAL14 XI.CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF PROPOSAL14 (A) TECHNICAL EVALUATION14 (B) SELECTION PROCESS18 (C) AWARD OF CONTRACT19 XII.SUBMISSION OF BIDS19 XIII.GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RFP20 (A) RELATIONSHIP20 (B) AMENDMENTS TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RFP:20 (C) EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT (EMD)20 (D) PERFORMANCE SECURITY:21 IX. X. 5 Request for Proposal f....
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....or the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) (E) SUBMISSION AND ACCEPTANCE OF BIDS21 (F) TERMINATION OF AGENCY:22 (G) CONTINUANCE OF THE CORE TEAM MEMBERS:22 XIV. EXTENSION OF TIME23 XV. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: 23 XVI. EMPLOYMENT BY ENGAGED AGENCY OR SUB-CONTRACTING:23 XVII. TERMINATION24 CONFIDENTIALITY XVIII.25 XIX. QUALITY CONTROL26 XX. ENGAGED AGENCY'S DEFAULT27 XXI. NON-DISCLOSURE 27 INDEMNITY XXII.29 CONFLICT OF INTEREST. XXIII.30 ARBITRATION XXIV.31 XXV. MISCELLANEOUS31 FACILITATION SUPPORT XXVI.32 ANNEXURES33 Annexure 1: Statement of Turnover.33 Annexure 2: Performance Statement34 Annexure 3: Draft No-Conviction/ Debarment Certificate.35 Annexure 4: Letter of Transmittal.36 Annexure 5: Outline of Experience including Relevant Experience. .....37 Annexure 6: Details of the Resource Persons/Team Composition.38 Annexure 7: Approach, Methodology and Detailed Work Plan39 Annexure 8: Financial Bid.40 LIST OF ANNEXURES AND FORMATS:41 XV. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: CONFIDENTIALITY XVIII. XVIII. XXI. NON-DISCLOSURE INDEMNITY XXII. XXII. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. XXIII. XXIII. ARBIT....
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....RATION XXIV. XXIV. FACILITATION SUPPORT XXVI. XXVI. 6 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) I. INTRODUCTION The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, (hereinafter referred to as the "MCA"/ "Ministry") is responsible for administering the Competition Act, 2002 to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition, to promote and sustain competition in markets, to protect the interests of consumers through the commission set up under the Act. On the recommendations of Fifty-Third Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on the subject titled "Anti-Competitive Practices by Big Tech Companies", a Committee on Digital Competition Law ("CDCL") was constituted by the MCA on 6 February 2023 to review whether existing provisions in the Competition Act, 2002 are sufficient to deal with the challenges emerging from digital economy, and to further examine the need for ex-ante competition instruments for regulating systematically important digital intermediaries. The Committee held consultation with representatives from various big-tech companies, industry as....
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....sociations and research bodies. Post consultation, CDCL submitted its report in February 2024 along with a draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB). Report of the CDCL along with Draft DCB was placed on MCA website under the e- Consultation mode from March 12- May 15, 2024. More than 100 stakeholders submitted responses, ranging from legal professionals, industry associations, civil society organisations, and domestic & foreign digital enterprises providing digital services in India. One of the recommendations was to increase the financial thresholds. The Draft DCB prepared by the Committee is annexed to the Report of the Committee on Digital Competition Law, 2024. The Draft DCB has 53 sections, 1 schedule, and eight chapters as follows: (i) Preliminary; (ii) Designation of a Systemically Significant Digital Enterprise; (iii) Obligations on Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises and their Associate Digital Enterprises; (iv) Power of the Commission to conduct an inquiry; (v) Powers of the Commission and Director General; (vi) Penalties; (vii) Appeals and Powers of Appellate Tribunal; and (viii) Miscellaneous. The Committee proposed that the Draft DCB should apply to a list of n....
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....ine (09) Core Digital Services that are susceptible to concentration, drawing from the CCI's enforcement experience, market studies, and emerging global practices. Keeping in mind the pace at which digital markets are progressing, such a list is proposed at Schedule I to the Draft DCB. The Committee recommended that the draft DCB should only regulate enterprises which have a 'significant presence' in the provision of a Core Digital Service in India and the ability to influence the Indian Digital Market. Enterprises fulfilling such thresholds may be designated as "Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises" (SSDEs). While India would benefit from ex-ante regulation of digital markets, empirical evidence through market studies/ impact assessments in the following two areas would give us better understanding on the likely benefits/impact of the implementation of ex-ante regulation: (i) Quantitative thresholds (financial and user threshold) for identifying SSDEs in clause 3, and (ii) list of CDS in Schedule I. 7 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) II. OBJECTIVE Th....
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....e objectives of the study will be the following - i) To review and evaluate the proposed qualitative and quantitative thresholds outlined in Clause 3 of the draft Digital Competition Bill; ii) To review the list of proposed core digital services included in Schedule I of the draft DCB; iii) To evaluate the implications of the draft Digital Competition Bill on these services and their stakeholders, including the potential impact on competition and market entry; iv) To assess the potential impact of the proposed ex-ante framework on smaller players including start-ups & MSME's. III. SCOPE i. Focus areas/key points of inquiry The focus areas/ points of inquiry will include the following: Qualitative and Quantitative Thresholds a) How effective are the proposed qualitative and quantitative thresholds under draft DCB to meet its objective? b) What revisions or enhancements can be made to the proposed thresholds in draft DCB for identification of SSDEs as per existing market scenario? c) How many companies will fall under draft DCB as per suggestion given on Point b? d) How the draft DCB impact big tech companies, and what changes can be expected in the market dynamics? e) W....
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....hat alternative/supplementary metrics could be suggested? f) What lessons can be drawn from international experiences/case studies? 8 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Core Digital Services g) Is the current list of nine digital services proposed in Schedule I sufficient, or should the scope be adjusted to include more or fewer services? h) What is the current state and dynamics of the services specified under Schedule I of the draft Digital Competition Bill? i) Who are the key market players within the digital services covered by the draft Bill and what are the competitive dynamics and market trends in these sectors? j) What is the scope, market share, growth trends and what challenges do service providers under Schedule I face? k) What are the implications of the draft Digital Competition Bill on these services and their stakeholders, particularly in terms of competition and market entry? Legal/Regulatory Framework l) How are the regulatory / legal frameworks governing digital markets in India and other major jurisdictions? m) What are the best practic....
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....es and frameworks for identifying SSDEs in digital markets? The Way Forward n) How can a competitive environment be fostered in digital markets that effectively promotes innovation while regulating the dominance of large digital players ?; o) What strategies and measures can be adopted to address the concerns of major technology firms while ensuring a level playing field for all participants in the digital ecosystem? Stakeholders The study will cover and gather data/facts from the following - - Major technology firms/ E-commerce platforms - Think tanks - Domestic& foreign digital enterprises providing digital services in India - Relevant Start-ups and MSMEs - Civil society organisations 9 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) - Experts including from the field of competition law and policy - Industry associations The sample of stakeholders will be constructed including at least 30 big technology firms / 30 start- ups/ researchers/domestic firms/MSMEs, 5 firms supplying core digital services, IV. METHODOLOGY The study will be a combination of secondary a....
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....nd primary research, consisting of the following: (a) Collating existing research and secondary data on the points of inquiry; (b) Identification and construction of database of stakeholders; (c) Survey/interviews/focused group discussions with key stakeholders; (d) Compilation, analysis and triangulation of qualitative and quantitative information gathered; (e) Preparation of Interim Report; (f) Submission of Final Report. V. KEY EVENTS AND DATES S. No.EVENTSTIMELINES 1Sharing of RFP03.11.2025 2Pre-bid consultation meeting*20.11.2025 3Last date for Submission of Bids17.12.2025 (by 5:00 pm) 4Opening of Bids18.12.2025 5Technical Presentation07.01.2026 and 08.01.2026 6Opening of Financial Bids15.01.2026 7Selection of AgencyWill be communicated after the approval of the Competent Authority * Agencies may request clarifications on any clause of the RFP document in writing, through email, by 25.11.2025 10 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) VI. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: DELIVERABLES/TIMELINES S. No.DELIVERABLES/ACTIVITIESTIMELINES 1Literature review and secondary r....
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....esearch, developing questionnairesWithin 6 weeks from the date of award of the contract 2Stakeholder consultation and expert consultationWithin 12 weeks from the date of award of the contract 3Compilation of data, analysis, submission and presentation of Interim Report covering the scope of the study as outlined in the RFPWithin 6 weeks of completion of stakeholder and expert consultation 4Submission of Final ReportWithin 2 weeks of communication of suggestions of the MCA VII. COORDINATION MECHANISM i. Both MCA and the Agency shall nominate a Single Point of Contact ('SPOC') for day- to-day coordination. (Here the term Agency refers to any Research Institute/Body/Organisation/Centre of Excellence/Autonomous Body ) ii. MCA's nominated Officers will be part of "Study Team" to ensure timely completion of the study and quality assessment of the submissions made by the Agency. VIII. PRE-QUALIFICATION/ ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA The pre-qualification/ eligibility criteria for the agencies are provided in the table below: S. No.Pre-Qualification CriteriaProof Required 1.The Agency should be a company registered under the provision of the Companies Act 1956/2013 or a partnership firm regis....
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....tered under the Indian Partnership Act, 1936 or the Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2008 or an organization under the Society Act or any autonomous body established under the Act of Parliament, as the case may be having a minimum of 5 years of existenceCopy of Certificate of Incorporation/ Registration/ MoA, as applicable. 11 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) 2.The Agency should have a minimum Annual Turnover of Rs. 50 Cr. during each of the 3 financial years i.e., FY 2022-23, FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25.Copies of financial statements duly audited by statutory auditors. In the absence of the same, certificates issued by chartered accountants for the relevant years, as per Annexure-1 3.The Agency should have completed a minimum of 5 studies/ project(Digital market/tech-policy related/competition related/sectoral studies for policy purposes) in the last 3 financial years undertaken through competitive bidding preferably International work.Copy of Work Order/ Certificate of Completion along with the details as per the format provided in Annexure-2 4.The Agency sho....
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....uld not have been blacklisted by Central/ State Government Departments/ Undertakings/Court of LawNo Conviction/ Debarment Certificate duly signed by the Authorised Signatory of the Agency, as per Annexure-3. 5.The agency should have a valid PAN and Service Tax/GST Registration in India (if applicable)Self-attested copy of PAN card and Service Tax/ GST Registration certificate (if applicable) 12 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) IX. PAYMENT SCHEDULE (A) The payment Schedule is given in the table below. MILESTONEPAYMENT (% BREAKUP) Facilitation fee on submission of a separate Bank Guarantee of the same amount25% Submission of Interim Report (Within 7 days of acceptance of interim report, or approval by the Competent Authority, whichever is later)25% Submission of Final Report (Within 15 days of acceptance of final report along with all primary/raw and processed data in hard and/or soft-copy format, or approval by the Competent Authority, whichever is later)50% (B) The responsibility of payment of taxes/duties/GST shall solely rest upon the Engaged Agency. Any de....
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....fault committed by the Engaged Agency in this respect shall not be attributable to the Ministry. (C) The release of payment for conducting the market study shall be subject to TDS as per applicable Rules/Acts/Laws. X. GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL (A) TECHNICAL PROPOSAL The Technical Proposal shall include the following information, along with relevant documents: (i) Letter of Transmittal as Annexure-4, duly signed by authorized signatory. (ii) Outline of experience including relevant experience of the Agency as Annexure-5. Copy of Work Orders/Completion Certificate/Project Reports should be attached for each of the assignments. (iii) Agency shall provide brief detail of the human resources (Names, Relevant Qualification & Prior relevant experience of key personnel and their role) to be deployed for the proposed Study as outlined in Annexure-6. (iv) Agency shall ensure active participation of the team members as presented above for smooth conduct of the study. 13 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) (v) A description of the manner in which Agency wou....
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....ld plan to execute the 'Study'. It should include approach, methodology and detailed work plan/schedule for carrying out the Study as outlined in Annexure-7. (vi) A two-to-five page summary of the technical proposal. (B) FINANCIAL PROPOSAL (i) The financial quotes should cover the entire cost of Study including all resource cost, field work, data entry, data analysis, preparation of reports, travels allowances, etc. (ii) The cost quoted should be inclusive of all taxes; however, the amount and tax- rate must be mentioned separately. (iii) The Engaged Agency, in accepting the quoted rates/prices shall for all purposes whatsoever be deemed to have independently obtained all necessary information for the purposes of the Agreement and shall be deemed to have taken into account all contingencies as may arise due to such information or the lack of the same. (iv) All payments to the Engaged Agency shall be subjected to deduction of taxes at source as per applicable laws. (v) The financial bid shall be submitted as per the format shown in Annexure-8. Financial bid submitted in any other format other than as per Annexure-8 shall be summarily rejected. (vi) MCA reserves the right of ....
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....seeking additional information including copies of project completion reports of other projects or Audited Annual Statements of Accounts while examining individual cases. XI. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF PROPOSAL The Technical Evaluation Committee ('TEC') constituted by the Competent Authority in MCA shall examine the technical proposals of only such bidders who satisfy the pre-qualification/ eligibility criteria mentioned in this RFP. (A) TECHNICAL EVALUATION (i) At the time of technical evaluation, all the bidders are required to present their technical presentation before the TEC regarding their technical proposal. Each bidder will be given a maximum of 15 minutes duration to make the presentation. If a bidder does not appear for presentation at the notified date, time and venue, then their technical bids will not be considered for evaluation. 14 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) (ii) The technical evaluation of the bids and the presentations will be done based on the following parameters to bring out the Technical Marks for each bidder: Sl. No.ParticularsM....
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....aximum Marks 1.Experience including Relevant Experience40 2.Team Composition20 3.Approach, Methodology & Work plan40 TOTAL100 (iii) While carrying out evaluation of the Technical Proposal, following marking pattern shall be followed: Marking Pattern for Experience including Relevant Experience: Maximum Marks: 40 S. No.Evaluation criteriaMaximum Marks 1.Agency Profile (number of years of existence, turnover, areas of work, global presence and exposure, access to relevant resources/databases)5 2.Number of relevant projects (Digital market/tech-policy related/competition related/sectoral studies for policy purposes)15 Sub- Criteria Breakdown of Marks No relevant projects - 0 marks Less than 3 projects - 3 marks At least 3 but less than 5 projects - 5 marks At least 5 but less than 10 projects - 10 marks 10 or more projects - 15 marks 3.Empanelment with government/statutory bodies5 4.Citations of reports/surveys in public reports/government policy documents, media etc.10 Sub-Criteria Breakdown of Marks No citations 0 marks 1-3 citations 3 marks 3-5 citations 5 marks More than 5 citations 10 marks 5.Any other factor deemed relevant for assessment5 Request for Proposal for the Engage....
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....ment of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Marking Pattern for Team Composition: Maximum Marks: 20 Evaluation criteriaMaximum Marks Qualification, relevant experience, nature, scope and number of projects steered by the team leader Sub Criteria Breakdown of Marks10 No professional Qualification, no relevant experience & no relevant projects undertaken 0 marks Holds PhD/MBA or Masters' degree in Commerce/ CA/ IT/Economics/ Public Policy/ Law or any other additional 5 marks specialization in relevant domain & has less than 5 years of experience & less than 5 relevant projects undertaken Holds PhD/ MBA or Masters' degree in Commerce/ CA/ IT/Economics/ Public Policy/ Law or any other additional 10 marks specialization in relevant domain & has more than 5 years of experience & more than 5 relevant projects undertaken Core team composition including number of team members, qualification, interdisciplinary expertise, relevant experience, nature and scope of work undertaken by team members Sub Criteria Breakdown of Marks10 Team comprising of less than 2 members, no relevant qualifications, no significant experience....
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...., 0 marks and no relevant projects undertaken Team comprising of less than 5 members with members holding PhD/MBA or Masters' degree 5 marks in Commerce/ CA/IT/ Economics/ Public Policy/ Law or any other additional specialization in relevant domain & less than 5 relevant projects undertaken Team comprising of more than 5 members with members holding PhD/MBA or Masters' degree in Commerce/ CA/IT/ Economics/ Public Policy/ Law or any other additional specialization in 10 marks relevant domain & more than 5 relevant projects undertaken 16 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Marking Pattern for Approach, Methodology & Work plan: Maximum Marks: 40 Evaluation criteriaMaximum Marks Understanding of terms of reference, scope of work and deliverables, clarity of plan of action and methodology10 Strategies for stakeholder consultation (including survey, one-on-one meetings, focused group discussions, any other) and quality control20 Presentation of the technical proposal10 (iv) The Technical Marks so obtained shall be graded for each bidder, based on the following grading ....
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....system: GradeRangeTechnical Grade Outstanding91-100100 Excellent81-9090 Very Good71-8080 Good61-7070 Very Fair51-6060 Fair41-5050 Average31-4040 Below Average21-3030 Poor11-2020 Very Poor1-1010 Zero00 17 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) (v) Further, the Technical Grades will be converted into Technical Score using the following formula: TS= 100 x TG / HTG TS = Technical score TG = technical grade of the respective bidder HTG = Highest technical grade (vi) Minimum Technical Score required to qualify into the next round is 70. Any bidder obtaining Technical Score below 70 shall be disqualified. (vii) Standing Committee constituted for procurement of goods and services (Committee) will evaluate the financial score for qualifying bids, according to the following procedure: (viii) The Committee will determine whether the Financial Proposals are complete, and unconditional. The cost indicated in the Financial Proposal shall be deemed as final and reflecting the total cost of services. (ix) After opening of financial bids, the Financial bid amounts of each bidder....
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.... shall be converted into Financial Scores based on the following formula: FS = 100 x LFB / F FS= Financial score LFB = lowest financial bid F = price quoted by the respective bidders (x) After obtaining the Technical Score and Financial Score of each bidder, the Combined Technical and Financial Score (CTFS) will be calculated. In calculation of CTFS, 70 percent weight will be given to the Technical Score and 30 percent weight will be given to the Financial Score. (B) SELECTION PROCESS Following process for selection will be adopted: (i) It is an open tender governed by General Financial Rules- 2017. (ii) The selection process would be Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS). The Selection Committee will select the Agency by giving 70% weightage to the technical score and 30% weightage to the Financial Score. 18 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) (iii) Bids with a minimum technical score of 70 in technical evaluation will be considered for financial score evaluation. (iv) The proposal obtaining the highest CTFS will be ranked as H-1 followed by the proposals....
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.... securing lesser marks as H-2, H-3 etc. The proposal securing the highest combined marks and ranked H-1 and shall be recommended for award of contract. (v) In the event two or more bids have the same score in final ranking, the bid with the highest technical score will be H-1. (vi) MCA will not notify the Agencies whose proposal did not meet the minimum requirement of technical score and will notify only the Agencies who have obtained the minimum technical score. (vii) The notification will be sent by a registered post/Fax/e-mail. (C) AWARD OF CONTRACT (i) The bid-proposal will be valid for 90 days from the last date of submission of the bid; MCA shall make its best effort to select the agency within this period. (ii) Cost of preparing the bid and incidental expenses shall be borne by the agencies and MCA will in no case be responsible or liable for these expenses regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bids. (iii) On completion of the process of selection, the agency selected shall be awarded the contract of carrying out market study by issuing the Letter of Intent (LOI). The selected Agency shall enter into an agreement with MCA within 7 days of issuing of LOI. The dat....
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....e of signing of the agreement shall be the deemed date of commencement of the market study and shall be completed as per the period stipulated in the Agreement. (iv) The fee will be subject to taxes, cesses, etc. as per applicable Indian laws. [Information/clarification, if any required, may be obtained through email ([email protected])] XII. SUBMISSION OF BIDS Last date for Submission of Bids is 17.12.2025 (by 5:00 pm) at GeM (https://gem.gov.in) 19 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) XIII. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RFP A) RELATIONSHIP (i) Engagement as an Engaged Agency (EA) shall not be construed as a relationship of Master and Servant or of Principal and Agent or of Employer and Employee as between the MCA and the Engaged Agency. No Partnership shall be constituted between MCA and the EA by virtue of this Agreement nor shall either Party have powers to make, admit, vary or release contractual obligations on behalf of the other Party or represent that by virtue of this or any other document, a Partnership has been constituted. The Enga....
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....ged Agency shall be fully and completely responsible for the activities conducted by it. (ii) Neither Party shall use the other Party's name or any service or proprietary, business name, mark or logo of the other party for advertising or promotional purpose or for any other purpose without first having the other Party's prior written approval. (iii) The RFP shall not bind the MCA in any manner whatsoever to offer any job to the bidder if it decides to abandon the Study. (iv) Infrastructure support for data collection and data entry shall be the responsibility of the Engaged Agency. Expenses for travel and stay of the officials of the Engaged Agency for attending meetings/discussions will have to be borne by the Engaged Agency itself. B) AMENDMENTS TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RFP: The Ministry reserves right to amend any of the conditions or a part thereof before the last date for the receipt of the tender/bids, by issuing an addendum, if necessary. i) Amendments, if any, would be put up on the website of MCA. The addendum shall be binding on all agencies. To give the bidders reasonable time in which to take an amendment into account in their proposals, MCA may extend the d....
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....eadline for the submission of proposal. The decision of extending the due date and time for submission of bid documents on account of amendments, however, will be the sole discretion of MCA. ii) MCA reserves the right to cancel the RFP at any stage without assigning any reason. C) EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT (EMD): The Agencies should furnish an Earnest Money Deposit of Rs 4,00,000/- (Rupees four lakhs only) by means of Insurance Surety Bonds, Account Payee Demand Draft, 20 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Banker's Cheque, Bank Guarantee, Fixed Deposit Receipt. Demand Draft/ Banker's Cheque should be drawn in favour of the "PAO, Ministry of Corporate Affairs" through any Commercial (Nationalised/Scheduled) Bank in India. Bank Guarantee should be as per Form E.4., The Insurance surety bonds should be drawn in favour of The President of India represented by the Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, 'A' Wing, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi, payable at New Delhi, through any insurance authorities which are under IRDAI, India, Fixed Deposit Receipt drawn though an....
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....y Commercial (Nationalised/Scheduled) Bank in India and should be pledged in favour of The President of India represented by the Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, 'A' Wing, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. The EMD should be valid for 45 days beyond the offer validity period. Tenders without EMD will be summarily rejected. D) PERFORMANCE SECURITY: The successful Agency shall, at its own expense, deposit Performance Security with the MCA, within fifteen (15) working days of the date of notice of award of the contract or prior to signing of the contract whichever is earlier, for the due performance and fulfilment of the contract by the Agency. i) This Performance Security will be for an amount equivalent to 3% of the contract value. Performance security may be furnished in the form of Account Payee Demand Draft, FD, Bank Guarantee from Commercial Bank or online payment in an acceptable form. All incidental charges whatsoever such as premium, commission etc. with respect to the Performance Security shall be borne by the agency. The Performance Security may be discharged/returned by the MCA upon being satisfied that there has been due performance of the obligations of the ag....
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....ency under the contract. However, no interest shall be payable on the Performance Security. ii) The Performance Security should remain valid till the period of 60 days beyond the date of completion of all contractual obligations. iii) In the event of extension of the contract period, the Performance Security shall also be extended accordingly. E) SUBMISSION AND ACCEPTANCE OF BIDS: Proposals must be received by the MCA, not later than the date and time specified in the Invitation of RFP. In case the specified date for submission of proposal is a declared holiday, the same will be received on next working day within the same specified time. Proposals received after the due date and time specified will be rejected. No proposal shall be accepted unless it is submitted on GeM. 21 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) (i) Bids received till closing date will be taken up for opening. Bids received after specified date and time will not be accepted. MCA reserves the right to disqualify any of the bidders in case it is not satisfied with the documents furnished or otherwi....
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....se without assigning any reasons thereof. If a bidder is found to have submitted more than one bid, all such bids shall be disqualified. If a bidder quotes NIL charges/consideration, the bid shall be treated as unresponsive and shall not be considered. Any efforts by an agency to influence MCA's personnel or representatives on matters relating to proposal under Study in the process of examination, clarification, evaluation and comparison of proposals and indecision concerning award of contract, shall result in the rejection of the Agency(s) proposal and also lead to black listing of the organization. (ii) Failing to execute the Contract Agreement within the said period may result in termination of contract and MCA may award the same to the next highest CTFS scoring agency. (iii) The person to sign the Contract Agreement shall be duly authorized by the agency. (iv) Validity period of the proposal shall be 90 days from the submission of the bid/proposal. If need arises, MCA may request the agency to extend the validity period of their proposals beyond the validity period of 90 days. Agencies who agree to such extension shall maintain the availability of core team composition submi....
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....tted in the proposal and also keep the technical and financial proposal unchanged, during the extended validity period. Agencies who do not agree, have the right to refuse to extend the validity of their proposals. Under such circumstance, their proposal will not be considered and MCA may award the same to the next highest CTFS scoring agency. F) TERMINATION OF AGENCY: The MCA may at any time terminate the Contract Agreement by giving a written notice to the Agency. Termination of contract will be without compensation to the Agency provided that such termination will not prejudice or affect any right of action or remedy which has accrued or will accrue thereafter to the MCA. G) CONTINUANCE OF THE CORE TEAM MEMBERS: Continuance of the Core Team Members for the entire duration of the Agreement shall be ensured by the Engaged Agency. However, to take care of unavoidable circumstances, Agency shall have a clause in their Contract Agreement binding the outgoing member of the core team for at least one month to ensure proper handover, training and handholding to the newly appointed resource persons. In case of any attrition in the study team, the 22 Request for Proposal for the Eng....
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....agement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Agency would be required to ensure that the new staff is appropriately trained. Any change in the core team will be only with the prior approval of MCA. XIV. EXTENSION OF TIME: (i) No extension of time in submitting the Final Report shall be allowed under ordinary circumstances. However, in the event that the Selected Agency is not able to complete the work within the stipulated time from the date of communication of undertaking the work, a formal request will be required to be submitted by the Selected Agency well in time, along with the status of the work, reasons for delay and further time sought to complete the work. Such a request will be decided by the MCA based on the merits of the case. MCA may allow extension of time with or without penalty. The decision of MCA in this regard will be final. (ii) If MCA allows extension of time with penalty, a penalty of 1% of the contract value will be levied for a delay of every 15 days, subject to a maximum of 5% of the contract value. Penalty will be charged on a pro-rata basis in case of delay for part thereof. (....
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....iii) MCA may, on its own, extend the time for submission of report/completion of the work/study in view of unforeseen circumstances. The same will be communicated to the Selected Agency. Any change in the terms would be subject to negotiation, and the decision of the MCA would be final. XV. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: The outcome of the Study in the form of the Study Report will be the intellectual property of the MCA. . No data collected for the purpose of the Study shall be used by the Agency for any purpose other than the Study. . The data, reports and other material used by the Agency during the conduct of the survey shall remain the property of the MCA. The Agency will not be allowed to use this information in any forum, national or international, without the explicit permission given in writing by the MCA. XVI. EMPLOYMENT BY ENGAGED AGENCY OR SUB-CONTRACTING: . The Engaged Agency shall not sub-contract the work, either in full or in any part thereof to any individual/firm/organization at any point of time during the agreement except with prior written approval of MCA. Any breach of the terms of the Agreement or the RFP or any other document executed between the Partie....
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....s, by such approved sub-contractor, shall be deemed to be a breach of the Agreement by 23 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) the Engaged Agency. The Engaged Agency shall be deemed to be solely responsible on behalf of and for the conduct of the approved sub-contractor. · The Engaged Agency's staff/employee or team that is performing the Study shall not be treated as the MCA's staff/employee for any purpose whatsoever. The Engaged Agency shall be responsible for strict compliance of all statutory provisions of relevant labour laws applicable from time to time in carrying out the Study. MCA shall not be liable to any penalty under relevant Labour Laws, Rules, Regulations, and Notifications for which the Engaged Agency is or may be responsible under the law. However, if the MCA is required to pay any cost/damages of any nature on account of the Engaged Agency's liabilities, the said cost/damages shall be recovered from or set off against any dues payable to the Engaged Agency. XVII. TERMINATION i) MCA shall be entitled to terminate the Agreement with the select....
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....ed bidder ('or the Engaged Agency') at any point of time, without payment of any costs, charges, damages or compensation by providing a written notice of one month to the Engaged Agency. The Agreement shall stand terminated on the expiry of the said period of one month relieving both Parties of their respective obligations, save such obligations and/or liabilities of the Engaged Agency that, by their nature survive the termination of the Agreement. That such termination will not prejudice or affect any right of action or remedy which has accrued or will accrue thereafter to the MCA. ii) Failure to execute the Agreement within the stipulated period may result in termination of contract and MCA may award the same to other agency/agencies. iii) Notwithstanding anything herein contained, the MCA may (without prejudice to any of its other right or remedies under the Agreement or under any law for the time being in force) without any notice and assigning any reason whatsoever may terminate, the whole or any part, of this Agreement under any one or more of the following conditions: (a) Misrepresentation or submission of false particulars for securing engagement as an Engaged Agency. (....
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....b) Non-adherence to the provisions of RFP. (c) Evidence of sub-contracting any activity undertaken in pursuance of conducting the Study without prior written approval of the MCA. 24 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) (d) Consistent poor quality of the work done by the Engaged Agency as adjudged by the MCA throughout the course of the Agreement. (e) Mismanagement/misuse/misappropriation of the information that is secured as a result of this Study. (f) Non-provision of necessary infrastructure required to successfully carry out the Study. (g) Complaints received against the Engaged Agency. (h) Information provided by the Engaged Agency is found to be false/forged/incorrect/altered. (i) Non co-operation during audits/inspections by MCA or auditing agencies empanelled by the MCA. (j) Misleading claims are made about the engagement status. (k) Engaged Agency becomes insolvent, bankrupt, or a resolution is passed for the winding up of the Engaged Agency. (l) Significant changes to the organization leading to change of management/non-notification of these change....
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....s to the MCA. (m) Engaged Agency is found to be involved in plagiarism or is in breach of any copyright of any person/institution/body/authority. (n) Not maintaining the required standard of confidentiality of information know-how, documents, data collected, or any other violation of the Confidentiality clause of this Agreement. (o) Soliciting/attempting to solicit information outside the scope of work. (p) Non-adherence to the time frame set out in this Agreement. (q) Any other reasons as may be deemed fit by the MCA for termination of this Agreement. XVIII. CONFIDENTIALITY a. The Engaged Agency or the Personnel engaged by it, shall not disclose or cause to disclose the proprietary or confidential information or any information incidental thereto relating to this Study or Agreement without the prior written consent of the MCA. Strict confidentiality of the field data collection/Interim Report/ /presentation 25 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) to be made before the MCA/composition of the team members selected to work on the Study, shall be maintained at a....
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....ll times. b. The Engaged Agency shall keep all the knowledge and information (which is not within the public domain), which may be acquired, directly or indirectly, during the process of carrying out of this assignment, strictly confidential for all times and purposes. All final reports and other documents or software submitted by the Engaged Agency in the performance of the Services, shall become and remain the property of MCA and MCA shall become the first owner of the work so created in terms of Copyright Act, 1957. c. The Engaged Agency shall keep confidential and shall not, without the consent of MCA, divulge or part off or cause to divulge or part off to any third party any documents, data or other information incidental to or in connection with this assignment except where such information is in public domain or required under the statute or Law. d. The Engaged Agency shall not without MCA's prior written consent disclose or cause to disclose the Agreement, or-any provision thereof, or any specification, sample or information furnished by or on behalf of MCA in connection therewith, to any person other than a person employed by the Engaged Agency in the performance of the....
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.... Agreement. Disclosure to any such employed person shall be made in confidence and shall extend only as far as may be indispensably necessary for the purpose of such performance. XIX. QUALITY CONTROL a. The Engaged Agency covenants and agrees to maintain a level of quality with respect to scholarship, research work and market survey processes that shall result in the achievement of the deliverables as specified in the RFP, measured as and when the MCA deems fit. For any breach of a timeline identified by MCA and as specified in the Agreement, the Engaged Agency shall provide MCA with: (i) a root cause analysis, (ii) an action plan detailing corrective actions required and (iii) an action register showing the status of the action plan. b. For each deliverable specified in the Agreement, the Engaged Agency will develop a quality performance program no less stringent than the standards currently employed by other agencies that are in the business of conducting market studies/surveys similar to the one envisaged in the agreement. c. MCA, if desired, may carry out site visit for review of field survey/work being carried out by the Engaged Agency for the Study. d. MCA may notify the....
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.... Engaged Agency, in writing, if the Engaged Agency has failed to meet the requirements set forth in either sub-clause (a) or (b) above. If, during 26 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) the term of the Agreement, MCA so notifies the Engaged Agency that it has failed to meet quality control assurance, then the Engaged Agency shall be deemed to be in breach of the Agreement. e. In the event of failure to comply with the aims and objectives, including but not limited to timely submissions, quality of survey/report at each stage and other incidental or ancillary deliverables expected from the "work/survey", the Engaged Agency may invite suitable penalty as provided in the RFP. f. In case the MCA allows extension of time to the Engaged Agency for the completion of the study at any stage with penalty, then a penalty of up to 01% of the contract value may be levied for delay of every 15 days. Penalty may be charged on pro-rata basis in case of delay for part thereof. XX. ENGAGED AGENCY'S DEFAULT a. In the event, the Engaged Agency withdraws/ alters/modifies/ amends it....
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....s bid between the date of the signing of the Agreement and the date of submission of Performance Security, then the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD)submitted shall be forfeited. b. In the event, the Engaged Agency withdraws/ alters/modifies/amends its bid within the bid validity period or fails to honour the Letter of Intent or fails to execute the Agreement, then the EMD and /or Performance Security, as the case may be, submitted shall be forfeited. c. Further, if the Engaged Agency fails to honour the Agreement, or is in breach of the terms and conditions of the Agreement, or quits in between, the Agreement shall be terminated by MCA, forfeiting the Performance Security submitted by the Engaged Agency. XXI. NON-DISCLOSURE a. The Engaged Agency agrees to not disclose or cause to disclose the information or material or information flowing from such material, to any other person provided or made available to the Engaged Agency by MCA or any of its officers during the course of the engagement/appointment/assignment. Such information and material shall herein after be referred to as "Confidential Information" and shall also include and shall not belimitedto opinion, report,researchora....
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....nyanalysis generated/submittedby theEngaged AgencytoMCAaspartof the engagement/appointment/assignment. 27 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) b. The Engaged Agency agrees not to reveal or cause to reveal the form, nature or content of any Confidential or Non-confidential Information to any person either directly, indirectly or otherwise. c. The Engaged Agency shall take all reasonable and appropriate measures to safeguard all Confidential Information received during the continuation of his/her engagement/appointment/assignment and thereafter refrain from unauthorized and unwarranted use, publication or disclosure to any person/institution/body/organization/authority. d. The Engaged Agency shall use Confidential Information only to accomplish the purposes of engagement/appointment/assignment and not otherwise. e. Unless otherwise specified in writing, MCA shall have exclusive rights over all information and materials provided by MCA to the Engaged Agency. Immediately upon cessation or termination of engagement/appointment/assignment, the Engaged Agency shall cea....
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....se using such information and shall forthwith return all information and materials, whether confidential or not, to MCA. f. The Engaged Agency/ agrees not to disclose or cause to disclose to any person other than necessarily required in terms of the Agreement any information during the continuation of this Agreement and thereafter, which came to the knowledge of the Engaged Agency as a consequence of his/her engagement/appointment/assignment. g. The Engaged Agency shall abide by the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 and the rules, regulations, guidelines, notifications, etc., framed or issued thereunder regarding confidentiality during the continuation of his/her engagement/appointment/assignment and shall not indulge in any act which may be in conflict with or otherwise jeopardise the interest of MCA in any manner. h. However, the Engaged Agency shall not be held liable for breach of the Agreement for all such information which is freely available in the public domain. i. The Engaged Agency to declare that, to the best of its knowledge, it has no relationship, interest, connection or affiliation whatsoever which would prevent it from performing its duties in and towards ....
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....MCA. The Engaged Agency has understood that a conflict/potential conflict of interest may arise when it has a financial or some other interest to a matter/case on which it is assigned or working on in MCA. Engaged Agency has also agreed to immediately bring it to the notice of MCA if a conflict/potential conflict arises any time during its engagement/appointment/assignment and it shall discontinue working on such matter/case and return all documents and material pertaining to such matter/case to MCA forthwith. 28 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) j. Any modification, amendment or waiver of the terms of the Agreement shall require the prior written approval of the parties to the Agreement or their authorized representatives. k. Should any court of competent jurisdiction later consider any of the clauses of the Agreement to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, such provision shall be considered severed from the Agreement. All other provisions, rights and obligations shall continue without regard to the severed provision, provided that the remaining provisions of ....
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....the Agreement are in accordance with the intentions of the parties. l. Breach of any of the conditions of the Agreement by the Engaged Agency shall lead to immediate termination of the engagement/appointment/assignment and shall also make it liable to the persons/enterprises/authority/body/institution/organization whose information was disclosed or used by the Engaged Agency for purposes other than those mentioned in the Agreement by the Engaged Agency. m. The Engaged Agency agrees to indemnify and keep indemnified MCA for any or all costs incurred or any liability accrued to MCA as a result of any litigation/suit/proceedings pursuant to the disclosure of any confidential information by the Engaged Agency. XXII. INDEMNITY a. The Engaged Agency hereby agrees and undertakes to indemnify, keep indemnified, defend and hold harmless the MCA and its officers, employees, representatives and agents against all losses, claims, damages, penalties, costs or expenses, duties, of any kind whatsoever which may arise on account of breach of warranty, representations, unauthorized acts, fraud, deed or any other acts of the Engaged Agency or any of its Personnel, incurred or to be incurred by t....
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....he MCA or its employees as a result of any act, omission or commission, negligence or any other reasons whatsoever, on the part of the Engaged Agency or any of its Personnel. b. For the purposes of the Agreement, the Engaged Agency shall include the Engaged Agency, its Personnel, employees, consultants and/or other authorized persons. c. MCA shall have no liability whatsoever for any injury to the Engaged Agency and/or its Personnel/staff caused or suffered in the course of performance of the obligations by the Engaged Agency in terms of the Agreement. d. The Engaged Agency shall be: a) provided prompt notice of any such claim upon such claim arising and b) provided all reasonable co-operation and assistance by the MCA to enable the Engaged Agency to defend or settle such claims with full co- operation from the MCA towards the same. 29 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) e. Each Party shall agree to refrain from admitting liability or otherwise compromising any third-party claim in whole or in part without consulting the other, except to the extent required by a....
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....pplicable laws. f. The responsibility of the Engaged Agency to indemnify set forth in this Clause and the obligations thereunder shall survive the termination of the Agreement for any reason whatsoever with regard to any indemnity claims arising out of or in relation to the performance or non-performance thereof. g. Subject to the terms of the Agreement, the Engaged Agency shall be liable to pay monetary damages to MCA for any loss incurred or suffered by MCA on account of delayed work, deficient quality of service rendered, loss of documents/deliverables or interruption in the services for reasons, directly or indirectly and solely attributable to the Engaged Agency. The Engaged Agency shall also be responsible to settle all or any claims relating to a violation of a third-party licence, intellectual property right(s) or for any liability or claim for bodily injury, death or damages to real property or person. This clause will survive the expiration, cancellation or termination of the Agreement. XXIII. CONFLICT OF INTEREST a. MCA considers a conflict of interest to be a situation in which the Engaged Agency has interests that could improperly influence the Engaged Agency's per....
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....formance of duties or responsibilities, contractual obligations or compliance with applicable standards, laws and regulations, and that such conflict of interest may contribute to or constitute a prohibited corrupt practice. MCA requires that the Engaged Agency shall provide professional and objective services and at all times hold MCA's interests paramount, strictly avoid conflicts of interest with other assignments or its own corporate interests and act without any consideration for future work. b. MCA considers a conflict of interest in case the Engaged Agency and any of its affiliates/personnel (team executing the engagement) that has a business or family relationship with a member of MCA's staff who is directly or indirectly involved in any part of the preparation of the RFP of the work to the selection process for the Engaged Agency. c. The Engaged Agency shall have an obligation to disclose any situation of actual or potential conflict that impacts its capacity to serve the best interest of MCA or that may reasonably be perceived as having this effect. Failure to disclose said situations may lead to the disqualification of the Engaged Agency or the termination of the Agree....
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....ment. 30 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) XXIV. ARBITRATION a. Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in the Agreement, if any dispute, difference, question or disagreement or matter whatsoever shall, before/after completion or abandonment of work or during the extended period, hereinafter arise between the parties as to the meaning, operation or effect of the agreement or out of or relating to the agreement or breach thereof, which cannot be mutually resolved, shall be settled in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended from time to time). b. That the Seat and the venue of arbitration shall be New Delhi, India. The language used for the arbitration procedure will be English. The Agreement shall be governed by the laws of India. That for the purposes of resolution of any disputes arising herein, the Courts at Delhi shall have the sole jurisdiction to adjudicate. That any action arising out of or in relation to the Agreement shall be initiated and maintained in a court of competent jurisdiction at Delhi. XXV. MIS....
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....CELLANEOUS a. Right to Inspect and Audit: The MCA shall have the right to: i) Carry out any inspection, background checks, and audits of the Engaged Agency and the quoted/cited data-sources. ii) Verify any allegations made by/made against the Engaged Agency in relation of the Study. iii) To do such acts as may be necessary for ensuring effective implementation of the agreement. b. Interpretation: All documents forming part of this RFP are to be taken as mutually explanatory. Should there be any discrepancy, inconsistency, error or commission in the Agreement, the matter may be referred to the MCA which shall give its decision and issue to the Engaged Agency instructions directing in what manner the work is to be carried out. The decision of the MCA shall be final and conclusive and the Engaged Agency shall carry out work in accordance with this decision. No verbal agreement or inference from conversation with any officer or employee or contract worker of the MCA before, during or after the execution of the 'Study' shall in any way affect or modify any of the terms/obligations contained herein. c. Severance: If any of the terms, covenants or conditions thereof as to the applic....
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....ation of such term, covenant or conditions are held invalid as to either party by any arbitration tribunal or court having jurisdiction, the remainder of such terms, covenants or conditions shall not be affected thereby, shall remain in full force and effect and shall continue to be valid, legal, subsisting, binding and enforceable. 31 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) d. Survival of Rights, Duties and Obligations: Termination of the Agreement for any cause shall not release a party from any liability which at the time of the termination has already accrued to another party or which thereafter may accrue in respect of any act or omission prior to such termination. e. Entire Agreement: The Agreement and the Schedules, Annexures and Appendices hereto constitute the entire Agreement between the Parties as to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all prior understandings between the Parties on the subject matter thereof. f. Fraud and Corruption: MCA requires that the Engaged Agency must observe the highest standards of ethics during the performance of the....
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.... Agreement. MCA will terminate the Agreement, if it determines that the Engaged Agency has engaged in corrupt, fraudulent or unfair trade practices, coercive or collusive practices, directly or indirectly, in competing for a contract or execution of a contract. g. Amendments and Modifications: Subject to the terms outlined in this RFP, MCA may request reasonable adjustments and/or additions to the scope of services performed by the Engaged Agency by giving written notice thereof to the EA. The EA shall negotiate in good faith on any and all requested adjustments and/or additions to the scope of services under this agreement. This change in the scope of services shall have no effect on the payment terms. XXVI. FACILITATION SUPPORT MCA will provide facilitation support through an authorization letter, if required. 32 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) ANNEXURES Annexure-1 Statement of Turnover S. No.Financial YearTurnover (in Rs. Lakh) 1.2022-23 2.2023-24 3.2024-25 Copies of financial statements duly audited by Statutory Auditors to be submitted. In the absen....
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....ce of the same, certificates issued by chartered accountants for the relevant years to be submitted. SIGNATURE Name and Designation of the Authorised Signatory: Name of Agency: Address: SEAL of the Agency Date: 33 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Annexure-2 Performance Statement S. No.Description of Study/ ProjectYearName and full address of the contract awarding body 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Work Order/ Completion Certificate/ Project Report to be submitted in support of each Study/ Project (Please use additional sheets if required) SIGNATURE Name and Designation of the Authorised Signatory: Name of Agency: Address: SEAL of the Agency Date: 34 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Annexure-3 Draft No- Conviction / Debarment Certificate* To, The Joint Secretary Ministry of Corporate Affairs 5th Floor, Shastri Bhawan New Delhi - 110001, INDIA Sub: No-Conviction/ Debarment Certificate We hereby declare that our Agency has never been de....
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....barred or black-listed or restricted to apply for any such activities by any Central/State Government Department/ PSUs or Court of law anywhere in the country in the past. Yours faithfully, Signature Name and Designation of the Authorised Signatory: Name of Agency: Address: SEAL of the Agency Date: *On the letterhead of the Agency 35 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Annexure 4: Letter of Transmittal* To The Joint Secretary Ministry of Corporate Affairs 5th Floor, Office Block - 1 Kidwai Nagar (East) New Delhi - 110001, INDIA Dear Sir, We, the undersigned, offer to provide the services for conducting Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds for Big Tech Companies and Core Digital Services (CDS) in accordance with your Request for Proposal (RFP) dated --. We hereby declare that all the information and statements submitted in this proposal are true, and in case of any concealment, mis-statement, misrepresentation or suppression contained herein may lead to our disqualification. The quoted prices in the Financial Proposal are valid till 90 d....
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....ays from the last date of submission of the bid of the quotation. We confirm that this proposal will remain binding upon us and may be accepted by you any time before the expiry date. The quoted prices have been arrived independently without consultation, communication, agreement or understanding (for the purpose of restricting competition) with any competitor. We fully understand the Terms, Conditions and other provisions as contained in the RFP. We understand that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is not bound to accept the lowest or any proposal or to give any reason for award or rejection of any proposal. I confirm that I have the authority of [Insert Name of the Agency] to submit the proposal and negotiate on its behalf. Yours faithfully, Signature (in full and initials): Name and Designation of the Authorised Signatory: Contact no. of the Authorised Signatory: Email ID. of the Authorised Signatory: Name of Agency: Address Date: *On the letterhead of the Agency 36 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Annexure 5: Outline of Experience including Relevant E....
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....xperience* Agency profile (Number of years of existence, turnover, areas of work in competition law, regulation and policy, any relevant vertical in technology markets, global presence and exposure, and access to relevant resources/databases with relevant links to be submitted) Number and details of relevant projects including scope, methodology, outcomes (tech-policy related/competition related/sectoral studies for policy purposes) (Copy of work order/project report/completion certificate to be furnished for each project for maximum 10 projects) Citations of reports/surveys of aforementioned relevant projects in public reports/government policy documents, media etc. (Add relevant links) Empanelment with government/statutory bodies (List along with empanelment letters to be submitted) Any other factor deemed relevant for assessment (Add relevant links/documents) Signature: Name and Designation of the Authorised Signatory: Name of Agency: Address: SEAL of the Agency Date: *On the letterhead of the Agency 37 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Annexure 6: Det....
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....ails of the Resource Persons/Team Composition A. Details of team leader/co-team leader (Please specify): (Attach copy of the CV) Years of experience Name of research institutions/organisations he/she has worked for:Period from ... to . . ..Description of role/responsibilitiesDetails of projects steered B. Details of the team members: (Attach copies of the CVs) Sl. No.NameQualificationDesignationNature and Scope of Work UndertakenYears of Relevant ExperiencePosition/task assigned for the study 1. 2. 3. .. .. . (Please use additional sheets if required) Signature: Name and Designation of the Authorised Signatory: Name of Agency: Address: SEAL of the Agency Date: 38 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Annexure 7: Approach, Methodology and Detailed Work Plan a. Approach and Methodology-including plan of action, recruitment plan, sample unit selection method, survey method, data/information gathering plan, stakeholder consultation plan (including survey, one-on-one meetings, focused group discussions, any other details), analysis of data/information, monitoring ....
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....plan, strategies for quality control, timeline etc. in relation to objective, scope and methodology prescribed in RFP. b. Work plan (The work plan should be consistent with the deliverables/timelines and to be given with the timeline for each activity) 39 Request for Proposal for the Engagement of an Agency to Conduct Market Study on Qualitative and Quantitative thresholds and Core Digital Services (CDS) Annexure 8: Financial Bid (Amount in INR) (A) Financial bid, excluding taxes : [Component-wise cost break up under major heads should be furnished] (B) Tax rate and tax amount: (C) Financial bid, including tax amount (Total of A+B): Signature: Name and Designation of the Authorised Signatory: Name of Agency: Address: SEAL of the Agency Date: 40 LIST OF ANNEXURES AND FORMATS 1. ANNEXURE 1: STATEMENT OF TURNOVER 2. ANNEXURE 2: PERFORMANCE STATEMENT 3. ANNEXURE 3: DRAFT NO-CONVICTION/DEBARMENT CERTIFICATE 4. ANNEXURE 4: LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 5. ANNEXURE 5: OUTLINE OF EXPERIENCE INCLUDING RELEVANT EXPERIENCE 6. ANNEXURE 6: DETAILS OF RESOURCE PERSONS/TEAM COMPOSITION 7. ANNEXURE 7: APPROACH, METHODOLOGY AND DETAILED WORK PLAN 8. ANNEXURE 8: FINANCIAL BID 41<BR> News ....
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....- Press release - PIB....