Infosys, Patni contenders for $2 Billion power deal

Mumbai: Indian government is planning to invest $2 billion in modernizing the power sector with the help of Information Technology (IT) in order to help the country's ailing power distribution and production units become more efficient and competitive. Infosys Technologies and Patni Computer Systems are among 14 firms eligible to bid for India's power sector modernization plan, which is worth almost $10 billion, reports Economic Times.

This heavy investment is a part of the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP). The second list of empanelled vendors for the implementation of the power reforms project will allow these vendors to compete for the tenders being put out by state electricity boards (SEBs) for modernization and implementation of IT. These vendors will be able to bid for different parts of the tender depending upon the category they have been empanelled for.

"We have already been empanelled as a system integrator. But we also wanted to be empanelled as an MDA solution provider because this allows us to bid for these solutions even when another vendor is the systems integrator," said Binod HR, Senior Vice President and Head, India business, Infosys.

The empanellment is in four categories - system integrator, GIS (geographic information systems) solution provider, network solution provider, and MDA (meter data acquisition) solution provider. Patni has been empanelled as a system integrator and the GIS solution provider, while Infosys has been empanelled as an MDA solution provider.

"Earlier, our focus on India was not so strong. But now we have re-structured our operations and India is a strategic focus market. The empanellment will allow us to participate in what is the largest IT programme under the 11th Five Year Plan," said Deepak Khosla, President, SAARC of Patni. He said Patni's target was to grow its India business to six percent of its revenues in three years.

KPMG had carried out the selection process. "Many government projects require the vendors to have worked on similar projects in the country. But this is a reforms programme and I believe this kind of initiative has not been undertaken in India before. It required us to demonstrate our global expertise in this area and we were able to do that," Khosla added. He said Patni was a strategic IT vendor to one of the U.S.' largest distribution companies.

West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, have already awarded IT tenders, but 29 other SEBs are yet to do so. A single vendor can only work on a maximum of five projects. Vendors such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have already won three projects from SEBs.