The country’s largest tender for electric buses, covering 10,900 vehicles under the Prime Minister Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme, has been delayed again after Convergence Energy Services (CESL) missed its December 19 deadline to announce the successful bidders.
The delay follows a request by Ashok Leyland to CESL to defer finalisation of the tender, citing a pending case before the Delhi High Court. Sources familiar with the matter said the request has effectively put the tender on hold, with no clarity on when the outcome may be announced.
CESL had earlier informed original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that the results would be declared on December 19. However, the announcement was postponed on the scheduled date after Ashok Leyland issued a formal notice, a senior official at a bus manufacturing company said.
Manufacturers’ concern
Manufacturers participating in the process are concerned that the legal proceedings could lead to a prolonged delay, affecting deliveries under a programme that is central to the government’s plans to expand electric public transport fleets across cities.
In response to queries, CESL said the tender had received an overwhelming response with 16 bidders. It added that technical and financial evaluations of eligible bidders were underway and expected to be completed shortly, but did not comment on the legal challenge or provide a revised timeline.
Ashok Leyland did not respond to requests for comment. However, sources close to the company said its subsidiary, OHM Global Mobility, has asked CESL to suspend the tender process until the High Court delivers its verdict.
Root of the issue
The dispute arises from OHM Global Mobility’s claim that it was unable to submit its bid due to a technical issue on the CESL portal. The company has maintained that while it uploaded its financial and technical documents, the submission did not go through. CESL has said the bid was never successfully submitted.
The Delhi High Court has sought an affidavit from the Centre for Development of Telematics, which manages the CESL bidding portal, and has also directed IIT Delhi to appoint experts to examine the alleged technical failure.
CESL, a government-owned entity under the ministry of power, is responsible for aggregating demand and conducting e-bus tenders under schemes such as FAME, PM-eBus Sewa and PM E-DRIVE. The current tender was first issued in June, with bid deadlines extended multiple times before closing on November 6. Sixteen bidders, including Tata Motors, Olectra, JBM, PMI and EKA, participated.
The delay comes even as allocations for e-buses under PM E-DRIVE have been raised to Rs 4,391 crore, or about 40% of the scheme’s Rs 10,900-crore outlay. With the scheme running until March 2026, CESL has yet to conclude a tender under the programme.