COVID-19 & Atmanirbhar Bharat Tender Guide for India

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced unprecedented challenges for businesses across India. However, it also unlocked a new wave of possibilities, largely driven by the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan announced on May 12, 2020. This initiative reshaped the landscape of government procurement, creating significant tender opportunities for Indian contractors, especially for local businesses. Let's explore the impact of the pandemic on government tenders and the new avenues that opened up. ## The Initial Impact on Tendering 📉 The onset of the pandemic created a tough environment for tendering. Companies struggled not only with selling securities in an unstable market but also with the tendering process itself. The challenges in the tendering process during lockdown were multi-faceted: * **New Procurement Rules:** The Department of Expenditure modified the General Financial Rules (GFR), stating that global tenders below Rs. 200 crore would be disallowed. This was a major shift in the latest government procurement rules in India, aimed at boosting domestic suppliers. * **Reduced Tender Volume:** The number of floated tenders nearly halved during the peak of the pandemic. * **Market Instability:** Standard Chartered terminated its Indian depository receipts (IDRs), which were linked to shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). * **Significant Drops:** Major PSUs felt the impact. For instance, Indian Oil Corporation saw its tender value plummet from 30,000 crores to just 2,382 crores. * **Operational Hurdles:** A lot of offline work couldn't be completed due to lockdown restrictions on team sizes. * **Documentation Issues:** One of the biggest hurdles was the inability to complete necessary paperwork due to lockdowns, highlighting the online tender documentation challenges many businesses faced. ## A Wave of New Opportunities 🌊 Despite the initial downturn, resilience and strategic government initiatives paved the way for recovery and growth. Government procurement began to regain momentum, focusing on critical sectors and creating a surge in local business tender opportunities. ### Solar Project Tender Opportunities in India ☀️ While the global solar industry faced setbacks, India moved forward decisively. The government announced a massive 14GW of solar tenders. Remarkably, 3.5GW worth of solar projects were auctioned in the first quarter of 2020, with SECI announcing the largest tender of the quarter. ### Medical Supply Tenders During COVID 🩺 Unsurprisingly, the medical sector became the epicenter of new opportunities. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare invited a massive number of COVID-19 tenders for essential supplies. * **Masks & Surgical Gowns:** The demand for masks skyrocketed after they were declared an essential preventive measure. This led to increased investment and numerous tenders for surgical gowns and masks. India ramped up production to nearly 4.5 lakh PPE (personal protective equipment) kits daily. * **Hand Sanitizers:** Orders for hand sanitizers grew 100x. This created a massive market for hand sanitizer local tenders. * **Other Medical Equipment:** Current tenders also saw high demand for shoe covers, goggles, gloves, face shields, and headcovers. * **Touchless Dispensers:** Previously a luxury item, touchless sanitizer dispensers became a common sight. This innovation created a new business category, with tenders for everything from sensor-based to foot-operated dispensers. ### EdTech & Online Services 💻 The shift to remote work and learning caused an overnight boom in the EdTech sector. The sudden surge in users showcased the future of digital education and services, creating related procurement needs. ## How to Navigate These New Tender Opportunities 🧭 Staying informed and agile is crucial to capitalizing on the new opportunities in the tender market. Here’s how you can effectively find and win these contracts. ### Stay Updated on Procurement Policies Understanding the changes, like the government's rules for global tenders, is the first step. The push for self-reliance under Atmanirbhar Bharat means more tenders are now reserved for local contractors. This is a golden chance for MSMEs and domestic businesses to secure government contracts that were previously out of reach. ### Systematically Find the Right Tenders With thousands of tenders published daily across over 50 government portals, finding the right one can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. To overcome this, use a unified platform that brings all these opportunities to you. TenderX simplifies your search by adding over 20,000 new government tenders daily from more than 3000 organizations, ensuring you never miss a relevant contract. ### Embrace Digital Tendering The pandemic accelerated the move towards e-procurement. Familiarizing yourself with e-tender portals and digital submission processes is no longer optional. This shift helps overcome the physical documentation challenges faced during the lockdown and streamlines the entire bidding process. Keeping a positive outlook and adapting to the digital shift has exposed businesses to a world of new possibilities. The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has fundamentally boosted India's local market, opening new doors for every Indian contractor. Don't let these opportunities slip by. Start exploring thousands of new tenders daily on our [Search Portal](https://tenderx.in/tender/search) and stay ahead of the competition.