TCS gets lion's share of Satyam's World Bank orders

Tata Consultancy Services has got a “significant” portion of World Bank contracts that were previously serviced by Satyam Computer Services, a World Bank spokesman said today.

“Over the last few months, since the ban on Satyam, a significant portion of what Satyam used to do has now been given to TCS,” the official said.

World Bank barred Satyam Computer Services as a vendor for eight years from September 2008, citing the reason for the ban as “providing improper benefits to Bank staff and failing to maintain documentation to support fees charged for its sub-contractors.”

Apart from Satyam Computer Services, World Bank barred Wipro for “providing improper benefits to Bank staff”, and Megasoft’s subsidiary Megasoft Consultants for “participating in a joint venture with the Bank staff while also conducting business with the Bank.”

The ban on Wipro and Megasoft are for four years each, effective from June 2007, and December 2007, respectively.

The projects were awarded to TCS the same month through competitive bidding — an indication that the Bank is not specifically targeting Indian IT companies.

When contacted, a TCS spokesperson said, “We bagged the contract from World Bank a long time back... Early September last year.” However, he declined to give further details as the company is scheduled to announce its quarterly results on January 15. Earlier, analysts had warned that after the fiasco, a large number of Satyam’s clients may desert it.