'Will talk to govt to include consolidated sales for FICV bid'

Tata Motors today said it will discuss with the government to include consolidated revenues in determining eligibility to bid for Rs 50,000-crore future infantry combat vehicle project, despite being "confident" of its domestic turnover meeting the financial criteria.
While private firms having capital assets in India of at least Rs 100 crore and an annual turnover greater than Rs 1,000 crore for each of the preceding three years are only eligible to bid for the project, Tata Motors said it is "confident of fulfilling all commercial / financial criteria".
The company is among the 10 reported Indian firms in race for building the future infantry combat vehicle (FICV) - a tracked, armoured vehicle that will protect infantrymen riding into battle.

The company's comments came in response to reports that Tata Motors may not qualify for the tender if its London subsidiary JLR's is not considered.
"We note we meet all the requisite criteria for bidding for the FICV project...Notwithstanding this, Tata Motors will discuss with the government and the Defence Ministry about including consolidated revenues...," a company spokesperson said.
The company said for the Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) project, the Defence Ministry's IMPT (Integrated Project Management Team) has clarified that "bidding companies must have capital assets in India, and the turnover in India will be taken into account for the threshold limit".

Explaining reasons behind such a move, the spokesperson said: "...Wholly-owned subsidiaries form an integral part of the parent company, including in stock exchange listings, and its consolidated revenues offer strong financial support to the project."

Tata Motors' consolidated net sales for 2014-15 stood at Rs 2,60,734.33 crore, while the standalone net sales were at Rs 35,890.50 crore.
The company said evaluation of the bid is to be based on technical and financial parameters. The financial parameters only account for about 26 per cent weightage.
"Tata Motors is confident of fulfilling all commercial/ financial criteria, even with the above-mentioned clarification from IMPT stating that a company's turnover from its domestic operations (excluding global operations) will be considered for the threshold limit," the spokesperson added.

Insisting that the company is a contender, the spokesperson said: "With our robust technical strength, the size of our Indian assets, a strong balance sheet and the backing of the Tata group, with other group companies joining hands in the consortium, we remain confident of being a strong bidder for this project."
The Rs 50,000 crore FICV project is spread over 25 years and other Indian firms, including L&T and Mahindra are in the fray for the project.
The Army needs an amphibious FICV that is air-portable and can fire anti-tank guided missiles that destroy tanks at ranges of 4,000 metres.

Other firms reported to be in fray for building FICV include L&T, M&M, Bharat Forge, Pipavav Defence, Punj Lloyd and the Ordnance Factory Board.