Information technology (IT) hardware and system integration company HCL Infosystems has bagged the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)’s managed service provider contract, one of the largest IT outsourcing contracts in the domestic market.
Though the company did not specify the deal size, industry sources say the company had quoted Rs 2,200 crore for the project, outbidding Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services company.
“With the award of the MSP (managed service provider) contract to HCL Infosystems, UIDAI looks forward to maximising efficiency and bringing to fruition the goal of providing a unique identification number to every Indian,” said B B Nanawati, deputy director general (technology), UIDAI.
The tendering process for the contract started about two years earlier. Though nine companies, including TCS, Accenture, Mahindra Satyam and Wipro, participated in the process, only two made it to the technical round. HCL Infosystems, which emerged the lowest bidder, was awarded the letter of intent. The company signed the contract on August 7.
As a managed service provider, HCL Infosystems would manage UIDAI’s entire technology infrastructure, including building the central IT data repository for issuing 600 million UID numbers by 2014. The company would also be responsible for procurement and installation of IT infrastructure, implementation of information security management systems and support and maintenance of operations.
The contract also requires a technical helpdesk, support services and database administration.
“As the MSP for the project, we are committed to meeting and delivering our defined scope of work, which broadly covers the implementation and management of UIDAI’s central ID repository. We would like to thank UIDAI for giving us the opportunity to be part of this huge nation-building project,” said A P S Bedi, executive vice-president, HCL Infosystems.
The seven-year contract is expected to boost HCL Infosystems, under pressure in the last couple of quarters because of the decline in revenue from Nokia. The company has an exclusive partnership with Nokia for distributing its handsets in India. The company is also facing challenges in the computer hardware business since the past couple of quarters.
On Friday, HCL Infosystems shares closed at Rs 40.6 on BSE, 5.3 per cent higher than the previous close, while the benchmark Sensex ended flat.
