What Happened
Court Directs Defence Authorities to Assess Bidder Viability
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to review abnormally low bids in defence procurement before allowing contracts to proceed. The court ruled that the lowest quote cannot be accepted mechanically when there are concerns over a bidder’s ability to execute the project. The decision relates to DRDO’s development-cum-production partnership model, under which private companies and other industry participants are invited to jointly develop weapon systems. This was reported by The Economic Times.