So far, contracts for only two mission mode projects ? MCA-21 under the ministry of corporate affairs and passport e-seva, under the ministry of external affairs ? have been awarded out of the total 27. Both these contracts have been bagged by TCS.?Infosys Technologies, India?s second largest software firm, on Tuesday bagged the 10-year contract for the implementation and maintenance of the e-biz project under the ministry of commerce and industry, also one of the mission mode projects. It will add another feather in its cap as far as the deals in the domestic market are concerned. In an interaction with FE, Binod HR, senior vice-president and head, India business unit, Infosys Technologies, speaks on how the company plans to go about the task and about other emerging opportunities in the domestic space.
What is the total size of the e-biz project?
The contract is worth Rs 15 crore, which is the fixed part of it. This money will come to us for our investment in hardware and software services. Apart from the fixed part, the model of the project is based on transaction-based pricing. Once the portal goes live, we will be paid for every service that is offered.
So, what is the revenue sharing arrangement with the government?
There is a certain threshold level we have set in terms of volumes that are generated online. We will be paid accordingly. Once the threshold level exceeds, we will share the revenues with the government.
What are the opportunities in the domestic market?
We are a big system integration player and we are bidding for all the major deals in the India market. The mission mode projects have now started rolling out. There was a lull in government spendings owing to the elections, but we are expecting it to resume now.
What are the big projects you have bid for?
We have bid for BSNL?s Oss/Bss systems contract. In the defence sector, there is an airforce deal, which involves ERP implementation. In Indian Railways, though we have already bagged the integrated coach management system (ICMS) contract in the last quarter, there are several others coming up. We are also active in the accelerated power development reform programme (APDRP) space in the power sector.
What is the potential in the corporate side of the domestic market?
There are a lot of opportunities in the banking and financial services, especially insurance. The manufacturing sector is also heating up as there is a lot of revamp happening which has some prospects for us. We have been waiting for the retail sector to come up, which has been compared to others. Healthcare also has a lot of potential. In the telecom space, we have been a little late to enter in the country. But, we had bid for the Unitech Wireless contract. We are also talking to all telecom operators like Aircel and Airtel for their value added services platforms.