CBSE's Rs 384 crore OSM deal: How Coempt beat TCS by 2 marks and a 60% lower bid

Tender documents show Coempt Edu Teck beat TCS for CBSE's digital evaluation contract. The details have come under focus as CBSE's OSM platform faces criticism over delays and technical issues.

In Short

• Technical scoring gave Coempt a slight lead over TCS in evaluation
• Both firms matched on security, staffing, certifications, recovery and training
• TCS scored higher on financial strength and presentation demonstration stage

The company at the centre of the controversy surrounding CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system won the board's digital evaluation contract after narrowly surpassing Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the technical assessment and offering a substantially lower financial bid, tender documents reviewed by Hindustan Times have shown.

Hyderabad-based Coempt Edu Teck secured 91 marks out of 100 in the technical evaluation, while TCS scored 89. The difference may appear small, but it proved significant in a selection process where technical performance carried a weightage of 70 per cent and financial quotations accounted for the remaining 30 per cent.

The findings come at a time when CBSE's OSM platform has attracted criticism from students and evaluators over technical difficulties and delays in services such as re-evaluation and post-result processes.

WHERE COEMPT GAINED AN ADVANTAGE

The records indicate that both companies performed similarly across several technical parameters. They received full scores for workforce strength, quality certifications, system security measures, disaster recovery planning, and training arrangements.

TCS received higher marks in financial strength because of its much larger turnover. While Coempt reported an average turnover between Rs 50 crore and Rs 60 crore during the previous three financial years, TCS, one of India's largest technology firms, reported revenue exceeding Rs 2.67 lakh crore in 2025-26.

However, the decisive gap emerged in the category assessing previous experience. Coempt secured 32 out of 35 marks, compared to 25 awarded to TCS.

According to the report, Coempt received full marks for experience in scanning and distributing subjective answer scripts for digital evaluation. TCS received no marks in that segment. Coempt also scored strongly for managing large-scale digital evaluation exercises and handling multiple assessment centres at the same time.

TCS, however, performed better during the presentation and live demonstration stage, receiving 14 out of 15 marks against Coempt's nine.

PRICE DIFFERENCE WIDENED THE GAP

The financial bids revealed an even larger separation between the two competitors.

Coempt quoted rates ranging from Rs 24.75 to Rs 25.74 per answer booklet, depending on the volume of scripts involved. TCS quoted between Rs 53 and Rs 65 per booklet.

Based on the evaluation formula, Coempt's total bid value was estimated at around Rs 384.6 crore, while TCS's proposal was valued at approximately Rs 951.3 crore. The difference between the two bids was nearly Rs 566 crore.

A senior CBSE official told Hindustan Times that the board had limited discretion during technical assessment and that the only subjective component involved the presentation stage, where TCS actually received higher marks.

Officials also defended Coempt's eligibility, stating that the company fulfilled all conditions laid down in the tender document and was not blacklisted by any examination authority or state government.

The disclosure comes as scrutiny of Coempt's role in CBSE's digital evaluation system continues, with questions being raised over platform performance and its impact on students during this year's examination cycle.

- Ends