Software giant Microsoft isn't happy with India. The tender process being followed by the Indian government to accept bids from technology companies to set up its eProcurement portal seems to have majorly irked Microsoft.

The software biggie is reportedly really concerned about the Indian government’s invite for open source software, and has alleged that government entities are not being cooperative in answering the queries of the bidders. In order to voice its concerns, Microsoft has also sent letters to various government departments.

The Indian government is currently on a lookout for a technology company that will be able to run its e-Marketplace portal, which is basically an online procurement platform for government entities to procure goods such as office equipment. Apart from Microsoft, some other big names in the running for the contract include Amazon, and Flipkart.

Microsoft is specifically not happy that the tender process is going against policy and procurement norms. It has mentioned the same in the letters it has sent to the prime minister’s office and the commerce ministry.

Reportedly, Microsoft, in the letters, has also alleged that the government departments are ignoring bidders’ queries, and some departments are misinterpreting the open source software and cloud technologies defined by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for the purpose of the management of the eProcurement portal.

The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D), which manages government procurement, has confirmed that it has received the said letter from Microsoft and has also refuted the giant's claims that the department has violated any procurement norms. According to sources, DGS&D has said that since its core system has to be open source, they can't opt for proprietary software.

Marred with questions, doubts and queries, the DGS&D is reportedly planning to release a revised request for proposal in the coming days and address whatever concerns that the bidders might have.

The tech company that wins the tender will get to manage the government e-Marketplace and earn about 0.5 percent of total transaction value on the portal.
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