Losing tender bids might not be new to participants, but when the MSME ministry, in a recent tender process selected international vendors over domestic machine tool manufacturing companies that participated in the process, there was a sense of total shock and disbelief within industry circles.

Industry insiders said that there were many MSME units in the machine tool manufacturing space supplying about 1,400 types of machine tools to national and multinational companies like GE, Kawasaki, Bark & VSSC, Volkswagen, Tata, and Bosch, among others. It is therefore, crucial for Indian players to be in the race.

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises had, with a view to modernise tool rooms and training centres, floated a tender with the assistance of World Bank to acquire CNC machines, measuring instruments and accessories.

Indradev Babu, President, Indian Machine Tools Manufacturers Association (IMTMA), while voicing concern over non-selection of Indian companies in the MSME tendering process, said, “The specifications were very stringent; several units are engaged in making of hi-tech instruments, accessories, equipment, etc., and have specialised in different areas as well. Due to minor deviations from the tender specifications, none of the eight enterprises that had participated in the process were selected.”

The Central Government has set up 15 tool rooms and training centres in the country to impart skill training. It was for upgrading these training centres and tool rooms that the ministry had invited tenders worth about ₹100 crore.

“IMTMA is now working closely with the MSME ministry and other government departments, requesting reconsideration of the offers submitted by Indian manufacturers,” he said.