Indian Railways has dismissed a joint bid of Beijing based CRRC Yongji Electric Ltd and India’s Pioneer Fil-Med Ltd for the 1,800 crore worth manufacturing of 44 Vande Bharat trainsets, Times of India reports.
Companies that have beneficial ownership in countries sharing land borders with India are mandated to get registered before they participate in public procurement contracts.
The CRRC-Pioneer Electric India had applied for the same and they had even submitted their bids when the railways had asked for proposals for the procurement of these trains earlier this year.
The issue had attracted immense traction due to the India-China standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the railways therefore cancelled the tender based on “technical ground”. Later on, the ministry altered the conditions for tender and fixed a minimum local content of 75 per cent to convert it into an indigenous tender.
Only three parties including this joint venture had bid for the Vande Bharat trainsets project. Hence, the offers made by BHEL and Medha Servo Drives are the only one who fulfil the criteria. Medha had bagged the contract for the manufacturing of the first two Vande Bharat train sets and they are also said to be L1 bidders this time round.
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