Where Indian government tenders are published
India has no single tender website. Where a tender appears depends on who is buying:
| Buyer | Where its tenders appear |
|---|---|
| Central ministries, departments and their bodies | GeM-CPPP (eprocure.gov.in). Publication there is mandatory under GFR Rule 159, and bids must be received online (Rule 160). |
| Anyone buying goods or services listed on GeM | GeM (gem.gov.in) — mandatory for central buyers when the item is available there. See how to register on GeM. |
| State governments and their bodies | Each state’s e-procurement portal — most run on NIC’s GePNIC platform, such as mahatenders.gov.in or tntenders.gov.in. The central GePNIC portal is etenders.gov.in. |
| Indian Railways | IREPS (ireps.gov.in) |
| Defence | defproc.gov.in |
That fragmentation is the first hurdle: a company that wants to see everything relevant to it has to watch dozens of portals. Here is what is open across them today:
Open tenders by type
42,009 Indian tenders open todayStep 1: Find a tender you can actually win
Start with the notice inviting tenders (the NIT) — a short summary of what is being bought, the eligibility conditions, the EMD and the dates. Read it before downloading anything else: most bids fail on eligibility, not price.
Know which kind of tender you’re looking at:
| Tender type | When it’s used |
|---|---|
| Advertised (open) tender | Central-government goods of ₹50 lakh and above. Anyone eligible can bid. |
| Limited tender | Goods up to ₹50 lakh — sent to more than three registered suppliers. |
| GeM bid or reverse auction | Goods and services on GeM above ₹10 lakh. |
| Two-bid system | Complex or high-value purchases: a technical bid and a financial bid, opened separately. |
| Single tender | Only for proprietary items, emergencies or standardisation. |
| Global tender | Not allowed for central-government goods up to ₹200 crore without special approval. |
Move fast. The rules ordinarily give at least three weeks for advertised goods tenders, and 21 days for works — but in practice half of all open Indian tenders close within 15 days of being published, and a quarter within 11 days. Start the day a tender appears.
Step 2: Get set up on the portal
Before you can bid, you need two things on each portal you use:
- A bidder account. Enrolment on the central and NIC portals is free: you set a login, register your email and mobile, and link your digital signature.
- A Class 3 digital signature certificate (DSC), registered against that account. Every bid on GeM-CPPP and NIC portals is signed with it. Read DSC for e-tendering for how to get one.
GeM is the exception: you can sign there with an OTP or Aadhaar/PAN-based eSign instead.
Do this well before your first deadline. Registering a DSC, installing the signing utility and fixing browser settings can take a day, and portals don’t extend deadlines for setup problems.
Step 3: Check every eligibility condition
Download the full bidding document. Under GFR Rule 168 it contains the instructions to bidders, conditions of contract, schedule of requirements, specifications, price schedule, contract form and standard forms. For central-government goods tenders, documents downloaded online should be free.
Go through the eligibility conditions line by line. They typically cover:
- Financial capacity — a minimum average annual turnover, sometimes net worth.
- Experience — completed works or supplies similar to this one, of a minimum value.
- Technical capability — certifications, licences, registrations, manufacturing facilities.
- Origin of goods — Make in India local-content conditions.
Some rules change who can bid or win:
- Micro and small enterprises with a Udyam registration don’t pay EMD and can match the lowest price if they’re within 15% of it. See MSME benefits in government tenders.
- DPIIT-recognised startups can have prior turnover and experience relaxed (GFR Rule 173).
- Make in India: suppliers are classed by local content — Class-I at 50% or more, Class-II at 20% or more — and in most domestic tenders only Class-I and Class-II local suppliers may bid. Purchases under ₹5 lakh are exempt.
- Bidders from countries sharing a land border with India must be registered with a DPIIT committee before bidding, under the Department of Expenditure’s order of 23 July 2020.
Watch for corrigenda. If the buyer amends the tender, the change must be published the same way as the original, and the deadline may be extended. If you’ve already bid, you can modify or withdraw your bid. Many tenders also hold a pre-bid meeting where you can raise questions; the minutes go to all bidders.
Step 4: Arrange the EMD
Most tenders ask for an Earnest Money Deposit — 11% of the open Indian tenders askTender tracks require one. For central goods and services it is ordinarily 2–5% of the estimated value, paid online or by bank guarantee, demand draft, fixed deposit or insurance surety bond. Micro and small enterprises and DPIIT-recognised startups are exempt.
What is EMD in a tender? covers amounts, exemptions, refunds and the mistakes that get bids rejected.
Step 5: Prepare and submit the bid
In a two-bid tender you prepare a technical bid (your eligibility documents, technical details and commercial terms) and a financial bid (your prices in the buyer’s format). Financial bids are opened only for bidders whose technical bids are accepted.
Then upload, sign with your DSC and submit. Three rules are absolute:
- Late bids are not considered (GFR Rule 165). Portals stop accepting bids at the deadline.
- No changes after the deadline.
- Your bid must stay valid for the period the tender sets — the government’s procurement manuals point to 75 days for goods and 90 days for works in open tenders, longer for global ones. Withdrawing during that period forfeits your EMD.
Submit a day early. Portals slow down in the final hours, and a failed upload at 2:59 pm for a 3:00 pm deadline is still a missed deadline.
Step 6: Opening, evaluation and award
Bids are opened in public — on e-procurement portals, bidders can see the opening online. Then the buyer evaluates:
- Goods and works: the contract goes to the lowest evaluated bidder whose bid is responsive and who meets the qualification criteria — the L1. Negotiation is allowed only in exceptional cases, and only with L1.
- Consultancy: usually quality-and-cost-based selection (QCBS), where the technical score can carry up to 80% of the weight, or least-cost selection.
- Reverse auctions: bidders lower their prices in real time during a scheduled window.
The winner’s name is published on GeM-CPPP. If you win, you’ll be asked for performance security — 3–5% of the contract value for goods and services, and 3–10% (including retention money) for works — and your EMD is refunded once it’s in.
Why bids get rejected
The Department of Expenditure’s procurement manuals list the reasons bids are thrown out. Most are avoidable:
- Missing EMD, or an exemption claimed without the certificate to prove it.
- Not meeting an eligibility condition — turnover, experience or a required certification.
- Unsigned or improperly signed documents, or not using the prescribed format.
- Quoting another firm’s products without the manufacturer’s authorisation.
- Departing from essential terms — for example, refusing performance security.
- Not quoting for the full schedule where the tender requires it.
- A missing integrity pact where the tender requires one.
- A manufacturer and its dealer both bidding — both bids are rejected.
- Quoting NIL charges — treated as unresponsive.
- Arriving late.
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Questions
Is it free to register on government tender portals?
Enrolling as a bidder on the central and NIC e-procurement portals costs nothing, and GeM seller registration is free. What you pay for is your Class 3 digital signature certificate, and any tender fee or EMD a particular tender asks for.
Can a new company bid on government tenders?
Yes, if it meets the eligibility conditions in the tender. Many tenders ask for past turnover and similar completed work, which a new company may not have. DPIIT-recognised startups can have the prior-turnover and prior-experience conditions relaxed under GFR Rule 173, as long as they meet the quality and technical specifications.
How long do I get to submit a bid?
For central-government goods tenders advertised openly, the rules ordinarily allow at least three weeks from publication — four weeks if bids are invited from abroad. Works tenders allow at least 21 days. Limited tenders only need to allow ‘sufficient time’. Corrigenda can extend the deadline.
Can I change my bid after submitting it?
Before the deadline, yes — portals let you modify or withdraw and resubmit. After the deadline, no: bids can’t be changed, and withdrawing during the validity period forfeits your EMD.
Can foreign companies bid?
In global tenders, yes. But no global tender may be invited for central-government goods up to ₹200 crore without special approval, and bidders from countries that share a land border with India must first register with a committee set up by DPIIT before they can bid in any Indian public procurement.
Sources
- General Financial Rules 2017, Chapter 6 (Rules 144–176) — Department of Expenditure (updated to 31 January 2026)
- Manual for Procurement of Goods — Department of Expenditure (updated June 2022)
- Manual for Procurement of Works — Department of Expenditure (updated June 2022)
- Hassle-free bid submission — NIC e-procurement guideline
- FAQs on the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012 — Office of the DC (MSME), January 2022
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.