CBSE OSM portal row: Coempt won against TCS by 2 marks, 60% lower financial bid

CBSE OSM portal row: Hyderabad-based Coempt Edu Teck that won the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE’s) contract for digital scanning and e-evaluation of answer booklets scored two marks higher than Mumbai-headquartered Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the technical round and quoted a financial bid nearly 60% lower, according to a report. 

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the tender records show Coempt scored 91 out of 100 in the technical evaluation, compared to 89 for TCS. The contract was awarded through the Quality and Cost Based Selection method, where technical scores carry 70% weightage and financial bids 30%, the report added. 

The award has faced scrutiny after complaints from students and evaluators about glitches in the On-Screen Marking (OSM) platform and delays in post-result services, including the launch of the re-evaluation portal.

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Both bidders were closely matched in several categories, the report added. They secured full marks for employee strength, certifications including CMMI and ISO standards, solution architecture, security and compliance, training and change management, and disaster recovery and business continuity planning. 

Coempt received two out of five marks for average annual turnover, having recorded more than ₹50 crore but less than ₹60 crore over the last three financial years. The Hyderabad-based firm says it has more than 25 years of experience in examination technology and employs 51-200 people, according to LinkedIn. TCS received full marks for turnover, with 584,519 employees and revenue of ₹267,021 crore in 2025-26.

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Despite the turnover difference, both firms were awarded the maximum 15 marks for manpower, reflecting CBSE’s assessment that both had workforce capacity of more than 100 persons to execute the project. The decisive difference was in the “Past Experience of Bidder” category, where Coempt scored 32 out of 35, against 25 for TCS, the report added. The largest gap was in experience in scanning and distribution of subjective answer booklets for digital evaluation, where Coempt scored full marks and TCS scored zero. 

Coempt also received full marks for large-scale digital evaluation projects and handling multiple evaluation centres simultaneously. TCS scored better in the technical presentation and live demonstration segment, with 14 out of 15 marks compared to Coempt’s nine.

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The financial bids showed a wider gap. Coempt quoted between ₹24.75 and ₹25.74 per answer booklet, depending on volume, while TCS quoted between ₹53 and ₹65 per booklet. The evaluated bid value was about ₹384.6 crore for Coempt and ₹951.3 crore for TCS, a difference of nearly ₹566 crore. 

A senior CBSE official said the board’s discretion in the technical round was limited to presentation, where TCS scored higher than Coempt. The official added that the bidding process was objective and unbiased. 

The report added that officials also defended Coempt’s participation, stating it met all conditions in the bid document and was not blacklisted by any state government or examination board. Eligibility and technical merit were assessed strictly against tender conditions, not public perception.