NEW DELHI: After a paper leak exposed weak links in India’s biggest entrance examination, National Testing Agency (NTA) is moving to put its premises, confidential records and examination material under round-the-clock watch. The agency has floated a tender estimated at Rs 7.5 crore to hire a security firm for its headquarters at Minto Road, regional office in Okhla and other notified locations.Issued on July 25, the tender is part of a procurement exercise covering security, housekeeping and examination-grade printing. Together, the bids signal an attempt to tighten controls across the examination chain — from printing and storage to access control and protection of digital infrastructure. The security contract will initially run for two years and may be extended twice by a year each. Bids can be submitted until 3 pm on Aug 17. The printing-services tender closes on Aug 20.The selected agency will watch over NTA employees, visitors, premises, confidential examination material, server rooms, strong rooms, warehouses, record rooms and other sensitive facilities. It will regulate entry and exit, verify staff and visitors, maintain logs and ensure that “only authorised persons enter restricted areas”.The security apparatus will include door-frame and hand-held metal detectors, GPS-enabled guard patrol tracking, biometric attendance and digital incident-reporting systems.NTA has moved away from choosing a bidder mainly on cost basis. Citing the “sensitive nature of NTA’s examination ecosystem and confidentiality requirements”, it has adopted the quality-and-cost based selection model. Technical capability will carry 70% weightage and the financial bid 30%. Only agencies securing at least 70 marks in the technical assessment will reach the financial round.Bidders must have at least five years’ experience in professional security, an average annual turnover of Rs 10 crore in past three financial years and must have done prior work at high-security establishments such as central govt institutions, examination agencies, universities, airports, hospitals or metro systems.
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Bidders for NTA tender will have to deposit 15 lakh as earnest moneyThe contract value excludes GST. Bidders must deposit Rs 15 lakh as earnest money, while the successful agency will furnish performance security equal to 5% of the contract value.Confidentiality is mandatory. The service provider and its personnel must protect information relating to examination material, security arrangements and IT systems even after the contract ends.The tender has been floated amid efforts to rebuild public confidence after the NEET controversy and have a foolproof system in place against paper leaks. The exercise suggests that NTA is treating security as a process in which every access point can become a vulnerability.
